Full List: MTV VMAs 2014 Winners

Beyonce made it big at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards by winning four awards, including the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. The ceremony took place Sunday night at The Forum in Inglewood, California.

Beyonce gave an epic performance that lasted nearly 20 minutes, following which she received an award from her husband Jay Z and daughter Blue Ivy. The “Crazy in Love” singer broke into tears after she received “the greatest living entertainer” award and kissed her husband, confounding rumors about an impending break-up. She also received the Best Collaboration award for “Drunk in Love,” which features her husband, as well as the Best Cinematography and Best Video with a Social Message awards for “Pretty Hurts.”

“I have nothing to say but I am filled with so much gratitude,” the 32-year-old singer reportedly said.

However, Beyonce lost the Video of the Year award to Miley Cyrus, who sent her mystery date on stage to receive the award as part of an awareness campaign for youth homelessness in Los Angeles and the rest of America.

“Thank y’all, my name is Jesse and I am accepting this award on behalf of the 1.6 million runaways and homeless youth in the United States who are starving, lost and scared for their lives right now. I know this because I am one of these people,” the man said, while Cyrus reportedly looked on with eyes full of tears. “Though I may have been invisible to you in the streets, I have a lot of the same dreams that brought many of you here tonight.”

Nicki Minaj almost suffered a wardrobe malfunction during her performance when she joined Ariana Grande and Jessie J for “Bang, Bang.”

“It felt amazing to open the show, and we ran out of time getting the dress zipped up,” Minaj reportedly said backstage, according to The Associated Press.

The VMA awards also remembered Robin Williams by featuring a video montage of the Oscar-winning actor, who died on Aug. 11 at his home in northern California.

Before presenting the award for Best Hip-Hop Video, actor Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr., better known by his stage name “Common,” held a moment of silence for Michael Brown, the 18-year-old black teen who was shot dead by a police officer on Aug. 9 in Ferguson, Missouri.

“Hip-hop has always been about truth and has been a powerful instrument of social change, from Melle Mel to Public Enemy to Kendrick Lamar,” Common said. “Hip-hop has always been presented a voice for the revolution.”

The Best Hip-Hop Video award went to Drake for “Hold On, We’re Going Home” featuring Canadian record producer Majid Jordan.

Here is the complete list of winners from MTV.

Video Of The Year: Miley Cyrus for “Wrecking Ball”

Best Male Video: Ed Sheeran for “Sing” (Ft. Pharrell Williams)

Best Female Video: Katy Perry for “Dark Horse” (Ft. Juicy J)

Artist to Watch: Fifth Harmony for “Miss Movin’ On”

Best Pop Video: Ariana Grande for “Problem” (Ft. Iggy Azalea)

Best Rock Video: Lorde for “Royals”

Best Hip-Hop Video: Drake for “Hold On, We’re Going Home” (Ft. Majid Jordan)

MTV Clubland Award: Zedd for “Stay the Night” (Ft. Hayley Williams)

Best Collaboration: Beyoncé for “Drunk in Love” (Ft. Jay-Z)

Best Choreography: Sia’s “Chandelier,” choreographed by Ryan Heffington

Best Cinematography: Beyoncé for “Pretty Hurts”

Best Video with a Social Message: Beyoncé for “Pretty Hurts”

Best Lyric Video: 5 Seconds of Summer for “Don’t Stop”

Best Editing: Eminem’s “Rap God” (Edited by Ken Mowe)

Best Direction: DJ Snake and Lil Jon’s “Turn Down for What” (Directed by DANIELS)

Best Art Direction: Arcade Fire’s “Reflektor” (Art Director: Anastasia Masaro)

Best Visual Effects: OK Go – “The Writing’s on the Wall” (Visual Effects: 1stAveMachine)

Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award: Beyoncé

IBTimes.com

Hippo Dies in Agony After Swallowing Tennis Ball He Mistook for an Apple

A beloved hippopotamus died an agonizing death in a zoo in Germany after a visitor threw a tennis ball into his enclosure that he mistook for an apple.

Maikel, 39, wolfed the ball down… only to die four days later with his bowel blocked up. Zoo staff said he was in acute agony before his death and had no clue as to what he was suffering from.

On Thursday morning he collapsed and died in the water in his enclosure, his lifelong partner Petra swimming repeatedly over his body and trying to nudge him to get up.

He was voted the favourite animal in the zoo by visitors last year and delighted children especially with his gentle nature and graceful swimming.

“He was in the best of health and we were frankly baffled,” said Professor Manfred Niekisch, director of Frankfurt Zoo.

“Our vets did their best for him but it was hard to understand what a 2000 kg animal was suffering from.

“His immense bulk meant an ultrasound was out of the question. There was no way of us to find the tennis ball in him, let alone remove it.”

Because the zoo was concerned for the health of the other hippos a full autopsy was ordered on Maikel at the Hessian State Pathology Laboratory – usually reserved for human victims of crime.

Pathologist Dr. Anne Nesseler led the autopsy on Friday and the tennis ball blocking his bowel was discovered.

Now a special animal crime squad has been charged by Frankfurt police with finding and prosecuting Maikel’s killer under animal protection laws.

“He died a very painful death,” she said. “It was an immensely stupid and immensely cruel thing to do, feed a tennis ball to an animal like this.”

- Mirror.co.uk