Tuesday, 25 March 2014

20 helpful tips for HTC One owners

HTC manufactured the first ever Android smartphone, and there's been a steady stream of them pouring out of Taiwan ever since. The latest flagship to hit the market may be the HTC One M8, the successor to the lauded HTC One, but its aforementioned predecessor is still more than prevalent in mobile market. The One retains HTC's traditional design strengths, build quality, and cutting edge performance even more than a year after its initial debut — and despite a few early wobble and questionable battery life — it still performs remarkably well.

However, there's more than a few helpful tips if you're just jumping upon the HTC bandwagon (try 20). Below is a list of some of the most helpful. 

Also, check out the HTC One problems users complain about most and how to deal with them. 

Updated on 3-25-2014 by Rick Stella: Added how to disable Beats Audio, perform a hard reboot, view webpages in fullscreen, transfer content from your old phone, shutdown unused apps, quickly navigate your music, automatically upload photos to the cloud, and install custom keyboards.

How to use and customize the lock screen

When you tap the Power button to bring your HTC One to life, you can swipe up anywhere on the screen to unlock the phone (you don't need to drag the lock icon up). You can also grab app icons or folders from the dock at the bottom and drag them up to launch directly into them. If you want to add folders or apps to the dock, just tap and hold on the icon, and drag it onto the dock.

If you want to dictate what appears on your lock screen, or even get rid of it, then go to Settings > Personalize. You can choose a style and wallpaper. You can also pull in photos from your Gallery or add the music player, email, messages, call data, or your calendar.

How to take a screenshot

There are two ways to take a screenshot on the HTC One and they're both easy:

Hold down the Power button (top left) and the capacitive Home key (bottom right) until you hear the camera shutter sound and see an animation onscreen.
Hold down the Power button and the Volume down button (right spine) until you hear the camera shutter sound and see the screenshot capture animation.
You'll see your screenshot in the Notifications bar and you can also find it in a Screenshots album in Gallery > My Photos.

How to customize or get rid of BlinkFeed

The feedback on BlinkFeed is mixed. HTC has set it as your default homescreen, and it basically pulls in the latest news stories and posts from various websites and your social media accounts, much like the Flipboard app. You'll want to customize the content that appears here. To do so, tap the Home key and then drag down from the top slightly until you see a little menu pop down. It will default to Highlights and there's a search function in there and then options, represented by three vertical dots at the top right. You can choose high level topics and services to include by tapping on Highlights, or you can drill down further via the options icon and individually dictate which websites, categories, services, or apps can be used as feed sources. Just check the box next to anything you want to include.

If you want to ditch BlinkFeed as your default homescreen, tap on the options icon and choose Customize home screen. You'll see small versions of your homescreens along the top. Tap and hold the one you want and then drag it up to where it says Set as home. You can also add new homescreen panels in here.

You can also pinch on any homescreen to access the homescreen and widgets menu.

How to use One as a TV remote control

The Power button hides an IR (infrared) blaster. You can use your HTC One as a remote control for your TV, home theater, and cable box. All you need to do is open the TV app and follow the instructions, then choose Start on the Set up HTC remote page. It will work with devices from most major manufacturers and the set up process is simple.

You'll get recommended content when you open the app, based on the preferences you chose, and you can tap on where it says Recommended to get a drop down menu to specify that you're looking for movies, TV shows, sports, a TV guide, or social. You'll also see a remote icon at the top, a search function, and the options menu.

Tips for the 'Ultrapixel' camera

There are loads of great options in the camera app for the HTC One. You can open up the filter menu by tapping the colorful icon at the bottom right when you're in the camera app. There are lots of filters to choose from. You'll also find editing tools and options to tweak settings – try the HDR mode for best quality results.

You can use "Zoe capture" by tapping the icon on the left hand side which looks like a camera and video camera combined. It allows you to capture up to 20 still images as a 3-second video clip. You can edit and share these as normal, or you can share the video clip. HTC has a free share service that lets you send Web links to friends and family.

You'll also find that your HTC One automatically creates a Highlight video, which is a montage based on your photos and Zoe captures. If you want to tweak the highlight video, you can choose a different theme by tapping the button at the bottom right. That will change the background music and the filter style. You can also tap to watch it and then hit the options menu (three dots) and choose Select content to dictate what you want to appear in it, and what you don't, by ticking or un-ticking boxes.

If you tap the options (three dots) icon when you're in the video camera, you'll find the option to shoot full HD, fast HD (60fps), and slow motion videos. Everything looks more interesting in slow motion.

The ability to auto upload your photos and videos and you'll find it in the camera app's settings or in the individual menus of supported apps or services like Flickr, DropBox, and Google+.

How to speed up your phone

Smooth and speedy performance is certainly one of the big draws of the HTC One, but you can speed it up slightly and reduce battery drain in a couple of ways.

Go to Settings > Developer options > Advanced and turn off some of the animations in the Animation section. If you don't see Developer options then go to Settings > About >Software information and tap on Android version several times to unlock it.

In order to make sure there's nothing running in the background that you don't need, and get rid of some bloatware that you can't uninstall, go into Settings > Apps and swipe to All. Now scan down the list and select each app you don't want and then tap Disable.

Handy shortcuts

You can always tap the Notifications bar to return to the top of the page, whether it's the app drawer or the BlinkFeed.

You can see your nine most recently used apps by double tapping on the Home key. You can tap to enter an app, or swipe it up to close it.

You can launch Google Now by long pressing on the Home key.

How to access HTC's help videos

There are actually a few videos and some text guides designed to help you come to grips with the HTC One's features. You can find them in Settings > About > Help > Tips & Help.

How to get extra storage

A few people were unhappy to find that the HTC One doesn't sport a MicroSD card slot, especially since China and Japan got a version with MicroSD card support up to 64GB. A lack of space due to larger radio band support in the US was blamed.

If you find you are running out of space, there is an alternative: you can always turn to the cloud. You can get a lot of free storage space by having multiple accounts, and you can organize files accordingly. Use Dropbox (2GB free) for documents, Box (10GB free) for TV shows, and Google Drive (15GB free) for photos and videos. Other options include SkyDrive (7GB), Mega (50GB), Bitcasa (10GB), Cubby (5GB), and SpiderOak (2GB).

You could also grab a USB OTG cable and then use a standard USB thumb drive or any external hard drive with its own power source.

How to boost battery life

We've discussed plenty of standard smartphone battery saving tips before, but you can also check out Settings > Power on your HTC One and turn Power Saver mode on. Tap on it to configure exactly what it does. It can reduce brightness, conserve CPU power, turn off vibration, and put the screen to sleep. There's also a Sleep mode option that will automatically turn off the data connection if you don't use it for a while.

Go into Settings > Accounts & sync and reduce the frequency or turn off the syncing for anything you don't need. Setting apps like Facebook to never auto refresh can save huge amounts of juice and it will always update when you open the app, so it's not a major miss. Sometimes you'll find these settings in the individual apps.

Location tracking can be another major drain on your battery. If you can live without it, then go into Settings > Location, and turn it off.

How to customize LED notifications

Go into Settings > Display, gestures and buttons > Notification flash and you can pick whether the LED should flash for calls, voice mail, messages, calendar, mail, and alarms.

How to share content with your TV wirelessly

The expensive option is to buy the HTC Media Link HD. You can share video, photos, and audio with your HDTV or surround sound system with a three finger swipe gesture on your HTC One's screen. It also supports a digital photo frame feature with up to 30 photos. In terms of file support, it covers many major video and audio formats, but it won't let you stream anything that's on your screen.

Your HTC One does have DLNA support, so you can also download an app like Skifta and use it to send your music, videos, or photos to your DLNA certified TV, PS3, or stereo. If you plan to do this, then go to Settings > Wi-Fi > Advanced and check DLNA auto-IP first. Anyone trying to stream embedded videos from websites should check out the vGet app.

How to disable Beats Audio

The HTC one comes standard with Dr. Dre's Beats Audio sound, a phenomenal feature essentially serving as an equalizer preset tailored toward deep and mid-range audio. However, cranking up the bass often comes at the expense of treble, a hallmark of mellower acoustic music. If you'd rather turn off Beats Audio, head to the main Settings menu, tap Phone, and switch Beats Audio to off.

How to perform a hard reboot

No piece of technology is immune to software hiccups. If you're smartphone begins performing slower than normal, or becomes entirely unresponsive, simply hold down the power button for 10 seconds to restart the device in lieu of the traditional method of popping the battery in and out.

How to view Web pages fullscreen

Your HTC One packs some serious screen size, space most users would like to take advantage of while browsing the Internet. Touch the top of your screen with the HTC One's Web browser open to show the URL information, and afterward, tap the "…" icon. Then, select Settings, choose General, and click the box next to Fullscreen to enable the full-screen Web browsing.

How to transfer content from your old phone

Despite what you might think, your previous phone's information doesn't have to go by the wayside should you upgrade to the HTC One from an iPhone, Windows Phone, or Blackberry device. To transfer your prior content, head to Settings, select Transfer Content, and allow the HTC One to pair with your old phone. Afterward, navigate to the Google Play Store, download the HTC Transfer Tool, and follow the on-screen instructions to transfer your data. If using an iPhone, download HTC Sync Manager, back up your iPhone as you would normally in iTunes, and launch HTC Sync Manager to import content to your new phone.

How to shutdown unused applications

Since the HTC One doesn't feature its own multi-tasking button, shutting down unused apps requires users to access Android's standard multi-tasking menu. Double tap the home button to bring up a grid of actively-running apps and swipe upward to close whichever apps you're currently not utilizing.

How to quickly navigate your music

Navigating a vast sea of songs can be tedious when you've uploaded your entire music library to the HTC One. That said, try scrolling through your music alphabetically using two fingers instead of using one to sort it song.

How to automatically upload your photos to the cloud

For most of us, a crashing smartphone is inevitable. Being the case, backing up your photos to the cloud can help free up space on your device and serve as a remote lifeline in worst case scenarios. Fortunately, the HTC One offers automatic backups directly within the camera application. Click the three dots in the bottom-left corner of your screen with the camera app open, select Camera Options, and click Auto Upload. Afterward, select which service you'd like to automatically upload your photos to. If you download the Google+ app (or open it), you can also use Google to back up your photos.

How to install custom keyboards

Not everyone is a fan of the standard HTC One keyboard. Luckily, Google Play Store offers a number of alternatives. Select and download your desired keyboard from Google Play, then access the main Settings menu on your device. Afterward, select the Language option, tap Keyboard, and choose your desired keyboard from the resulting list to equip it.

Updated on 11-18-2013 by Simon Hill: Added how to get extra storage, boost battery life, customize LED notifications, and share content wirelessly.
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Facebook just bought Oculus VR: Do not adjust your headset

Facebook has announced the acquisition of Oculus VR, the maker of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, in a deal worth $2 billion. The details are expected to be finalized by early summer.

The deal includes $400 million in cash, as well as 23.1 million shares of Facebook common stock, which Facebook notes is worth $1.6 billion. The deal also has incentives built into it, which provides for an additional $300 million "earn-out in cash and stock based on the achievement of certain milestones."

"Mobile is the platform of today, and now we're also getting ready for the platforms of tomorrow," Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said. "Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate."

We reached out to Oculus VR for comment, and were directed to the VR maker's official blog post discussing the purchase.

"At first glance, it might not seem obvious why Oculus is partnering with Facebook, a company focused on connecting people, investing in internet access for the world and pushing an open computing platform," the blog, credited to "Palmer, Brendan, John and the Oculus team" stated. "But when you consider it more carefully, we're culturally aligned with a focus on innovating and hiring the best and brightest; we believe communication drives new platforms; we want to contribute to a more open, connected world; and we both see virtual reality as the next step."

The news comes just days after Oculus unveiled the second generation of its Oculus Rift headset. The new model is still targeted at developers, just like the last one, and pre-orders are currently open. The unit costs $350 and is expected to begin shipping in July. Sony also announced its own virtual reality headset for the PlayStation 4 last week, called Project Morpheus. Neither company has an official release date set for their retail models.

More on this story as it develops. 
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Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN) in Lagos Is On Fire

The fire started at about 5:40 PM at the top most part of the building.

Lagos Fire Service and other emergency agency officials are said to have arrived the scene.

The fire incident comes amid several multi billion dollar allegations of fraud rocking the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Investigations into some of these allegations have already been initiated by several government bodies and agencies including the National Assembly and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Analysts say they would not be surprised if the fire was meant to get rid of certain key documents that could serve as evidence in these investigations

MORE DETAILS LATER
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Update! Soul E Responds To Critics

Musician turned Prophet has reacted to the criticism being thrown his way in regards to his vision about Davido and Wizkid.
 
Soul E recently shared on his instagram page that he saw a vision of wizkid being poisoned and davido in a fatal accident. Read here. His update didn't go well as people didn't accept it well. He has responded to the criticisms and from what we can see, this is not the last of Soul E and his visions.

He defended himself on his facebook page few hours ago

"I have received so many phone calls about the prophecy the Lord gave to me concerning Wizkid, Davido and Aso Rock. Some have said that I am seeking for attention and so many funny talks about me been (being) a prophet of God , I want to say that as a prophet of God, I will deliver any message I receive from God. Many people did not believe my Master Jesus Christ when He was on earth and they called Him different names, that's why I am not surprised at people calling me names too but one thing I am sure of is that I don't speak when the Lord has not asked me to speak and I don't speak when the Lord has not showed me. Prophet Soul E." he said.
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The Hours has Come, All Comedy, Fun & Music! Basketmouth Headlines This Week's Industry Nite

It is set to be a night of amazing comedy, thrilling performances, and ravishing beauty, as Nigeria's foremost comedian, Basketmouth, headlines this week's Industry Nite.

The previous edition was quite the blast, with an open mic contest for young talents, where rapper Datboi won a recording deal worth N1 million.

With scheduled performances from more of Nigeria's top musical talents, this week's edition surely will be a blast. Pulse.ng and PulseTV, official partners with Industry Nite, will be providing exclusive fun photos, videos, and interviews with the stars and performers. Don't miss out!

DJ Spinall will run things from behind the wheels, and the eccentric Jimmie Akinsola will be on host duty.

See full details below.

Date: Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Venue: Maddox Lounge. 82 Adetokunbo Ademola Street, V.I, Lagos.

Time: 9.00 PM
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10 Things You Should Know About Having Sex in Water

Pump It Up!

Sex In Water: Doing It Right In Pool, Shower Or Tub

The cool thing about sex in the water, pool, tub or shower is getting clean while having fun getting dirty at the same time. But, though sex is usually linked with wetness, having sex in water isn't just about jumping into the pool, or a river, and getting kinky.

Here are some things you must know as you try to bring your water-sex fantasy to life

1. Condoms don't play well with water. Chemicals and hot water are said to affect a condom's durability, lowering protection. It could also slip off. So it's wise to have some backup condoms.

2. Use a lubricant that is not water soluble to make penetration a lot more comfortable for both of you. Sex in water does not create extra lubrication, because water actually washes away the natural lubrication from a woman's body which can cause extremely painful friction – extremely.

3. Shallow end of the pool is the best for safety reasons. But whether in the pool or under the shower, doggy-style is usually the best.

4. A good alternative is oral sex. Have your girl sit on the deck of the pool or on the stairs while you stand in the water, or vice versa.

5. For pools, there is the problem of all that potentially dangerous chlorinated water rushing in and out of the lady's genitalia.

6. In tub/shower sex, you get the pleasure of being wet, without the chance of too much water entering private areas. The missionary style is the best option.

7. Having something to hold onto, like a bar, installed in the shower is good when you need support for from-behind action.

8. In open waters like the beach, you have to be very careful as salt water isn't exactly a vagina's best friend sand may get lodged… in not-so-good places. Instead, start things off in the water, but then head to dry land – or manage a hand job.

9. You must know also that having sex under water surface is dangerous. It is simply not a good idea – unless of course you have gills.

10. Again, since the pool pose isn't discreet it is recommended for night times and private locations. You wouldn't want to see a video of you uploaded on YouTube.
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They Didn't! The Obamas Called Monkeys By A Belgian Newspaper!

This is 2014, why is racism still an issue?

Image1: Belgian Newspaper - De Morgen - compares The Obamas to apes?

Image2: Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin Meeting in US

Despite the long gone fight against racism around the world, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are at the center of another recent racist attack. A Belgian newspaper De Morgen, which marked Obama's recent visit to the Netherlands to commemorate their 100th anniversary of the start of World War I; with a picture of the first couple with ape mouths.

The publication even went further by posting another photo of the US President with the following caption: "First black president of the USA starts selling weed." Check This!

Reports say De Morgen Newspaper ran the photos alongside a story that was supposed to be a "satirical" take on Obama's strained relationship with Russia's president Vladimir Putin.

But it looks like it was the Russian Leader himself who allegedly forwarded the photos to the Belgian media house, "Vladimir Putin is the president of Russia. He sent us this attachment at our request, and chose to send pictures instead of text 'because he doesn't have a lot of time'," the article reportedly stated.

However, Nigeria writer Chika Unigwe has shared his thoughts on the article on Twitter with this post:

@chikaunigwe – so photo of the Obama's as chimps in De Morgen of today is the paper's attempt at satire. I forgot to laugh #racist

The negative feedbacks from people across the globe including that of Chika apparently caused the paper to apologize for the offensive image of the First Couple and admits they showed "bad taste" by publishing it. The paper wrote:

«"When you consider the fragment apart from its context, which is a properly worked out satirical section, then you don't see the joke but just a picture evoking sheer racism …We wrongly assumed that racism is no longer accepted, and that in this way it could be the subject of a joke."

SMH! Do you think this was a joke to be published at all or it was a deliberate act to ridicule the US First Couple? Send us your thoughts.
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America Is About To Have a Female Black President – Alfre Woodard

Well, after Barack Obama no one thought a female black woman would be interested.

Image1: Alfre Woodard & Lupita Nyong'O in 12 Years A Slave

Image2: Katherine Heigl to star alongside Alfre Woodard in 'State of Affairs'

Hollywood's power woman Alfre Woodard is set to become America's next black president. She may not be in the real White House in Washington DC per say; but the actress has agreed to play the role of US black female leader – Roberta Payton - in NBC's drama series, "State of Affairs" which also stars former Grey's Anatomy actress, Katherine Heigl.

From 12 Years A Slave to the White House, Woodard is heading to the top of affairs now and she is ready to kick some a**es. Meanwhile Heigl stars as Charleston "Charlie" Whitney Tucker, a CIA agent plucked from her job to become the President's legal debriefer. Interestingly enough she is also the ex-girlfriend of President Payton's late son.

The show has been described as "Scandal meets The West Wing," according to The Hollywood Report and fans can't wait to begin watching.

Do you think President Barack Obama will watch too?
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Vibrator Users Please Borrow "Cossy Orjiakor" Who Cries Over Broken Vibrator

Help this sister (who tweet on Twitter of broken vibrator).

Most times, we don't really know what to make of drama queen, Cossy orjiakor and her burst of heartbreaks.

The wanna-be singer and actress is one celebrities who is always in the news for all sorts of reasons.

If she is not posting nude pictures of herself, she is raising eyebrows with her antics.

This time around, Cossy is sure downcast and is seeking for your help. She posted a picture of her broken vibrator on Twitter and lamented the loss of her precious dildo which she calls her rampant rabbit.

It seems she was using the vibrator on herself when it broke and she cried her eyes out, lamenting and is in need of a capable replacement.
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Top secret Does President Jonathan Have A Second Wife?

First family, first secret
This may be the best kept secret in Nigeria if, according to insiders, it turns out that Nigeria's president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has a second wife beside the only known and very popular Dame Patience Jonathan.

According to very reliable sources, there is actually a second wife who goes by the name Mrs. Lott Jonathan, popularly called Mrs. Lott J.

The insiders squeal that Lott J is not just President Jonathan's second wife, but she is also the mother of his children - two boys.

We gather that Lott J, a Law graduate of Rivers State University of Science and Technology, (RSUST), is the daughter of Chief F.D. Lott, a renowned lawyer and former Attorney General of Bayelsa State, and is the cousin of the Petroleum Minister, Deziani Allison-Madueke.

It is also reported that the two of them are as close as blood sisters and that could be the reason GEJ cannot do away with the controversy ridden minister.

Sources disclose that Lott J has been married to the president even before he made his foray into politics. It was gathered that after Jonathan became the Deputy-Governor of Bayelsa State, Lott J tried to muscle her way into his heart by using her two sons as bargaining chips to tie his hand.

However, she met a stiff resistance in Dame Patience, who foiled all her attempts. By the time Jonathan became the governor of Bayelsa State, he decided to relocate his second wife and two sons to the United States of America.

Shortly after President Jonathan became president, Lott J came back to Nigeria with her two sons, and made Abuja her place of abode.

She is said to be living in one of the most high brow areas of Maitama district, Abuja, and runs a private school called Aduvie Montessori International, where children of the high and mighty attend.

This is really top secret!
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Diddy Officially Changes Name Back To Puff Daddy

At this point, does his name really matter?

Diddy changes name to PUFF DADDY
Hip Hop star Sean 'Diddy' Combs is returning to his roots and he's begun that movement by officially changing his name back to Puff Daddy.

The mogul just announced he'll put his nickname Diddy to the side after nearly 10years in use and get back his original rap name in preparation of his new forthcoming album, according to Radio.com.

The Revolt TV's CEO will be releasing his not-yet-titled album, MMM soon. The LP becomes his first release since the 2010 Diddy-Dirty Money collab with "Last Train To Paris" and his first completely solo album since his 2006's "Press Play".

This announcement comes simultaneously with the release of a teaser trailer for his new single "Big Homie", featuring French Montana and Rick Ross, out on March 31.

It should be noted that the Bad Boy Entertainment boss changed his name twice after "Puff Daddy," first to P. Diddy, then, Diddy and somewhere in there, Puffy happened as well.

 
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Scandalous! Scandal's Gladiator Columbus Short Under Investigation

Isn't he supposed to solve people's problems? Why is he here?

Columbus Short from Scandal goes under investigation for bar fight
One of Scandal's gladiators, Columbus Short aka Harrison Wright gets under criminal investigation after involving in a bar fight in LA last two weeks; which landed a 37 year old man in a hospital.

According to law enforcement officers, Short was at Gabe's Bar and Grill in L.A. on March 15 at around 10:45 PM celebrating a couple's engagement when he started arguing at the bar with another partygoer. Eye witnesses claim the other guy pissed Short off by making a comment along the lines of,

«"You might be richer than me but I get my girls to buy me everything I want including your wife."
 
According to gossip site TMZ, Columbus then came up from behind and sucker punched the guy.  Reports say the man's nose was broken and he was rendered unconscious for several minutes. But the actor quickly left the bar.

Cops are now investigating a criminal battery and it's likely not the first time the Storm The Yard actor used his fists to make a point.  In March 2010, the actor got into an argument with another player while playing basketball at an L.A. Fitness gym and socked the guy in the face, knocking several teeth out.
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We Needs Our Prayers: Nollywood Actor Emma 'Totolos' Ehumadu Flown To Dubai For Surgery

Lovers and well-wishers of Nollywood action actor, Emma 'Totolos' Ehumadu, should pray very hard for him as he has been rushed to Dubai for an immediate neurological operation, following injuries he sustained in a ghastly motor accident he was involved in while shooting a robbery scene in a movie, alongside Jim Iyke.

Totolos had sustained serious head injury and was hospitalized at a hospital in Asaba, the capital of Delta State, where they were shooting.

We gathered from industry sources that after undergoing treatment for some days, he had regained consciousness and was discharged.

But after two day, it was discovered that he had developed some complications and had relapsed into coma and had to be rushed to Dubai for the urgent operation.

We also gathered that Totolos had developed some infection in his head and that the surgery was the only option that would save him and get him back to his feet.

A close friend of the all action actor informed Pulse.ng that Emma had called earlier today to inform that all is set for the surgery but that he needs financial support and prayers from kind hearted Nigerians so as to pull through this difficult times.

We pray for him and also solicit for financial support for our beloved actor.
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Badoo Baby Number 2 For Olamide?

Baby daddy
If reports are anything to go by, Baddest Rapper Ever Liveth, Olamide, is surely a sharp shooter as reports state that the Baddest Guy Ever Liveth could be expecting his second child.

According to reports, the rapper had fathered a kid a few years back by his long-time girlfriend, Adebukunmi Aisha Suleiman, and though they are not married, Olamide has not been shy to flaunt her for all to see, telling everyone that she is the only woman in his life.

Now sources say the sharp guy is expecting another baby from her, even without taking her to the altar.

So when are we expecting the 'Durosoke' rap-ster to walk down the aisle?

Update: Olamide has since denied the reports that he is expecting a child.
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Prophet T.B Joshua Gets It Right Over Malaysian Plane

Prophet T.B Joshua, the powerful Nigerian seer who seats atop the Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, has proven his doubters wrong yet again. The much maligned man of God is on point yet again as his accurate prediction about the missing Malaysian flight MH370 plane that disappeared from the radar few weeks ago, has come to pass when it emerged the plane actually crashed into the sea, leaving no survivor, just like he predicted. 

He had also stated that the crash was due to human error and not an attack or hijack like the United States and other advanced countries had speculated.

It has now emerged that the prophet knew his onions when news broke yesterday, Monday, 24 March, 2014, that the plane had plunged into the Indian Ocean and that there were no survivors.

The Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak, confirmed that when he announced;

It is with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that Flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

Its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, off Australia's west coast.

This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites.
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Linda Ikeji & Olamide In Bitter Tweet Fight (Blogger Vs Rapper)

Nigerian blogger, Linda Ikeji, and indigenous rap star, Olamide, are engaged in a bitter Twitter fight.

The bone of contention from all indications appears to have been provided by Linda Ikeji. The blogger had earlier reported a story that Olamide's long-term girlfriend and baby-mama, Aisha is allegedly pregnant with another child.

Olamide however insists that the story is false, claiming that he is not yet a father, and that Linda's story is unfounded and untrue. Fans of both parties have taken sides right now, with many tweeting in support of their camps.

Linda is notorious for getting into the bad books of celebrities, mostly due to what they term as 'untrue or fake reporting'. Earlier this year, she had a bitter quarrel with Ghanaian actress, Yvonne Nelson.
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Seeking Living in Mudslide Path, Rescuers Fear They’ll Find Only Dead

Rescue workers removed one of a number of bodies from the wreckage of homes destroyed by a mudslide near Oso, Wash., on Monday.

ARLINGTON, Wash. — The search for survivors at the site of a massive landslide continued Tuesday with the growing fear that rescue workers will find more bodies beneath the several stories of mud with the consistency of freshly poured concrete.

Officials in Snohomish County say they now have had 176 reports of people unaccounted for — up from 108 on Monday — since a wall of mud came cascading down a mountain slope Saturday onto the tiny community of Oso. At least 14 people have been killed.

"We're expecting that number to go up throughout the day," Travis Hots, a local fire official, said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Mr. Hots also said the rain expected to start falling later in the day and continue throughout the week would make the search "more challenging." The work, he said, will probably take weeks, but added that even a meticulous search was "no guarantee that we're going to get everybody."


Graphic | Extent of the Mudslide Aerial image showing the area devastated by Saturday's collapse, as well as structures in the path of the mud.
Emergency management officials have cautioned that the number of people unaccounted for was likely to go down because some of the reports of missing people are duplicates or vague, with little more than a first name to go on. But the sense of an expanding disaster — one that will touch more lives — was unavoidable as the slide's grim dimensions emerged. Emergency officials said the new list included not just residents but also home repair contractors, visitors and people who may have been driving on a state road when the slide began.

Search and rescue efforts were continuing where possible on the mile-square site, using dogs, ground-penetrating radar, aircraft and other tools, officials said. Technicians are also trying to locate people in the mud and debris by pinging their mobile phones.

Fifty Washington members of the state National Guard arrived Tuesday to aid in the search, along with search-and-rescue teams from around the United States. The Federal Emergency Management Agency was setting up a command center in the area to help coordinate the work, a spokeswoman said. Mortuary assistance teams have also started to arrive, officials said.

The timing of the slide on a Saturday morning, with children out of school and many adults off work — added to fears that many people were at home when it hit.


Video | Obama on Washington State Mudslide At a news conference in The Hague, President Obama spoke on the fatal landslide in Oso, Wash., and the related state of emergency.
Becky Bach, who grew up in the area, said she had not heard from her brother and his wife, Thom and Marcy Satterlee, and two other relatives since before the mudslide.

"We have four of them missing," Ms. Bach said, choking up. "They're telling us that they're not seeing anything alive out there. At this point we just want closure. We want some bodies."

Andrea Hulme, who is Ms. Bach's niece and Mr. Satterlee's daughter, said the slow pace of rescue efforts had been frustrating. Emergency crews have had to proceed agonizingly slowly through the thick mud and have had to withdraw altogether at times out of fear of new mudslides.

"Everyone is saying they're only going to be recovering bodies, but no one is looking because they say it's not safe," Ms. Hulme said. "I'm not capable of saying they are dead right now. They could be dead — but I'm not going to think that until I'm shown they are dead. I just don't think we should give up hope, because it's possible they're out there."


Oso Community Chapel along State Route 530.
MATTHEW RYAN WILLIAMS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
She added: "I'm hearing that people are going in there to try to dig out their family members. I'd be doing that if I could get there. It's my family. I'm willing to risk my life to try to save them. I know how strong each of them are, and they're probably trying to dig their way out, or waiting for help."

A compiled census of homes and structures in the slide zone, also released Monday by county officials, identified 49 building or residential sites, 25 of which are believed to have been occupied full time.

"Everyone knows someone that's missing or affected," said Juanita Beck, the manager of the Stilly Coffee House here in Arlington, a city where responders have established their command center, about 20 miles from the slide.

Search and rescue officials said that their efforts were still being treated as a rescue operation, but that the chances that anyone might still be found alive were fading. The slide, on a slope east of Oso that also collapsed in 2006, set off a surging torrent of rocks, trees and splintered homes. State Route 530 was covered with about 10 to 12 feet of mud and debris.


Matt Pater, 32, searched through debris.
JOSHUA TRUJILLO / SEATTLEPI.COM, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Linda McPherson, 68, and her husband, Gary McPherson who is known as Mac, were sitting in their reclining chairs in the living room in Oso when the mudslide hit, Ms. McPherson's sister, Irene Kuntz, said in a telephone interview. Their home was split into pieces in an instant. Ms. McPherson's body was recovered soon after, Ms. Kuntz said. But, she said, Mr. McPherson survived and was hospitalized for "pretty serious" injuries.

"He was trapped in a section of the house," Ms. Kuntz said. "The house was split apart, you could say, sections here and there."

Steve Thomsen, the Snohomish County public works director, estimated that a total volume of 15 million cubic yards of earth, or the equivalent of about three million dump truck loads, came down the mountain in seconds.

Mr., Hots, the local fire chief, said Monday in a briefing with reporters: "The situation is very grim. We're still holding out hope that we're going to be able to find people that may still be alive. But keep in mind we have not found anybody alive on this pile since Saturday."

He and other rescue workers described a scene of stark devastation and danger, with the responder teams and their dogs and machines, probing or peering into the soil, still unable to reach certain areas because of the risk of sinking into quicksand-like mud.

They said that partly demolished buildings were compacted with soil so dense that it seemed like concrete, and that the landscape was strewn not just with mud but also with toxic chemicals from crushed cars and oil and propane tanks. It can take five minutes or more to go only a few feet in some places, they said.

Heavy rains that have saturated Western Washington in the last two months are considered a major factor in prompting the slide. But the local terrain — glacial sediments, deposited more than 12,000 years ago, with steep bluffs carved by snow-fed rivers — created the setting in which that precipitation could percolate down.

David Montgomery, a geologist at the University of Washington, said the sediment consisted of a relatively loose mix of materials, including sand, silt, clay and boulders. "The bottom line is, it's not hard rock," he said.

The area around Seattle has had problems with landslides over the years, and the hill where the slide occurred has been the site of several other slides dating back to the 1940s, in part because of its position above the meandering North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, which over the years has cut away at the base of the hill, according to reports prepared by the United States Geological Survey and the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

But engineers believed that they had adequately stabilized the hill after a mudslide in 2006. John Pennington, director of the Snohomish County department of emergency management, said Monday that the slope had been "considered very safe."

"This was a completely unforeseen slide," Mr. Pennington said. "This came out of nowhere."

Around March 10, he said on Tuesday, there was a 1.1-magnitude earthquake near the slide area, but it was not yet clear what role that may have had in the mudslide.

Mr. Pennington said his agency had made periodic warnings to county residents about the risks of landslides. "We've done everything we could," he said.

Amid the devastation, some people escaped death out of pure luck.

Irene Kuntz said her son, Cory Kuntz and his wife had been at their son's baseball game in Tacoma when the mudslide hit. That saved them. But their house was flattened, and their dog, left at home, was missing.

On Sunday, the family went back to the house, hoping to salvage what they could, and they heard the dog, a lab named Buddy, whimpering inside "a huge pile of stuff," Ms. Kuntz said.

"He was trapped under a pile of rubbish, broken boards, lots of mud — stuff that had accumulated into a pile, debris," Ms. Kuntz said. "They started pulling out timbers. They used a huge power saw. And they cut through safely and got the dog out. He's lying in my house right now. He has a cut on his front leg, and he's still very tired, but we're glad he's safe."

Ian Lovett contributed reporting from Los Angeles, and Henry Fountain and Timothy Williams from New York. Alain Delaquérière contributed research.
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ITINERARIES Loyalty Programs for One-of-a-Kind Hotels

Amy Chen, who works for LinkedIn, at the Hotel Griffon in San Francisco, which offers a loyalty rewards program.

It's a decision many business travelers would rather not have to make: stick with the big, predictable hotel chain and accumulate rewards points, or stay at the offbeat independent hotel but give up any rewards.

Now, independent hotels are finding a way around that decision by banding together to offer loyalty programs that reward repeat customers and attract new ones.

Groups including Leading Hotels of the World, the Preferred Hotel Group and the Stash Hotel Rewards program are among the rising number of groups offering incentives to repeat customers who stay at their independent hotels.

The result is that guests "no longer need to choose between staying at a unique property and earning credit toward a free stay," said Jeff Low, chief executive of Stash Hotel Rewards, a three-year-old program that has signed up 200 independent hotels.

A frequent-stay program lets independent hotels better compete with big brands, said Lindsey Ueberroth, president of the Preferred Hotel Group.

"We want to attract customers who haven't stayed at our hotels before and shift the loyalty of corporate travelers, who really value points, away from the chains," she said.

Amy Chen, a community manager for LinkedIn, has loyalty memberships with "all the major chains," she said, but prefers to stay in boutique properties, for their "décor and the intimate feel." She joined the Stash guest reward program when she found out that two boutique hotels she planned to book in Arizona were members.

"It was a happy surprise," she said.

In some cases, the independent hotels may not have the resources to create and manage their own loyalty programs, so "we provide this service for them," said David Rompf, senior director of loyalty marketing at Leading Hotels of the World. His program includes more than 400 luxury hotels.

Typically in these types of programs, points are awarded only to guests who book directly with the hotel, so the loyalty plans can also be a way to steer customers away from online travel agents, like Hotels.com, which keep part of the nightly rate, Mr. Low said.

A recent study showed that travelers joining independent hotel loyalty programs spent more nights, and dollars, at those hotels. Guests who signed up for the loyalty program stayed an average of 50 percent more room nights and spent about 50 percent more over the course of a year at that hotel than guests at the same hotels who did not join the loyalty program, according to research sponsored by Stash and managed by the Cornell School of Hotel Administration and the University of Michigan.

Stash designed its program to be simple for customers, who earn five points for each dollar spent, but flexible for the participating properties to each set their own level of points required for a free night. Stash includes hotels along the price spectrum — current listings in the Seattle area include the Larkspur Landing in nearby Bellevue, an all-suite hotel with kitchens for 7,000 points per night and the trendy downtown Hotel Andra for 15,000 points.

Another independent loyalty program is Voila Hotel Rewards, which includes more than 100 hotels around the world.

The Preferred Hotel Group updated its iPrefer program last year, and about 450 of the group's 650 hotels participate, offering one point for each dollar spent. Guests exchange points for certificates they can use for hotel rooms, and in some cases dining or other products and services. Ms. Ueberroth said she hoped that partnerships and promotions planned for this year would increase the number of program members to two million from the current one million.

The Leading Hotels of the World group has taken a different path with its program. For a $150 annual fee, members receive breakfast with their room, Wi-Fi, upgrades and late checkout if available, and one free room night if they stay five times a year. For $1,200, members receive guaranteed room upgrades, a card that gives them access to 600 airport lounges, membership for three people in their family and other benefits.

Barry Pozmantier travels frequently and has elite status at Hyatt, Starwood and the Intercontinental Group. Despite this he pays the yearly fee at Leading Hotels of the World to receive free room upgrades when they are available. He said sometimes a single room upgrade, like a recent one at Prague's Hotel Paris, more than paid for the annual membership costs.

The independent hotels have a chance to make some inroads with brand-loyal travelers because many of those brands have been making it harder to redeem a free room. Over the last year Hilton and some of the other major hotel chains devalued their loyalty points. Higher-level tiers were added, some hotels were moved to lower or higher tiers (but mostly higher) and some added seasonal pricing.

In January, Hyatt added a new, more expensive redemption level to its program, and in March, Club Carlson, which includes Radisson Hotels, increased the points needed to stay at some of its properties. The chains are aware of the potential effect these changes have on their guests and try not to push things too far, said Daraius Dubash, who runs the Million Mile Secrets travel website.

"The goal is often to move the goal post just enough so that folks keep staying and redeeming points at the hotel chain and don't feel persuaded to give up," Mr. Dubash said.

These industry changes however, represent "one more reason," Mr. Low said, that a traveler might try the new independent hotel loyalty programs.
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History Channel’s ‘Vikings’ gets third season

History has ordered a 10-episode third season of its hit drama Vikings to air in 2015.

"Vikings has taken viewers by storm and has established itself as one of the most compelling, visually stunning dramas on television," Dirk Hoogstra, EVP and general manager for History and H2, said in a statement.

History's first original scripted series is currently only four episodes into its second season and is averaging 3.4 million total viewers.

Production on season 3 begins this summer.

Vikings airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on History.


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‘Supernatural’: Misha Collins on his directorial debut, Crowley testing Dean, the war in heaven, more

Last week's Supernatural ended with a "sobered up" Crowley realizing that his life was in danger. As a result, he stole the First Blade from the Winchester brothers. Pair that with the return of Abaddon this week — not to mention Dean finally realizing the effects of the Mark of Cain — and an end-of-season, danger-is-imminent feeling is slowly creeping in. For now, though, we're trying to stay calm and take things one week at a time — which is why we talked with Misha Collins about what comes next.

Collins, who makes his directorial debut with tonight's episode, wasn't able to promise us a Castiel appearance — not even a cameo! He did, however, talk about the brothers' dilemma, what Crowley is up to, and what we can expect from Cas in future episodes. Here's what we learned:


The effects of the Blade start to sink in a bit for Dean: "[Finding the Blade] continues to be a driving mission for the season, most especially for Dean. He's got a duel motivation there. On the one hand, he wants to get Abaddon, and on the other hand, he's kind of jonesing for the rush that he had in holding that First Blade. It's almost like Sam with the demon blood way back when. So yeah, that's [a] central plot twist as we move forward."

Crowley is "not entirely" sober, and will spend this week testing Dean: "I will tell you that Crowley is essentially trying to figure out whether he can, in the same vein as when they went after the First Blade originally together, see if he can exploit or trust — I don't know what the proper term is — Dean for further partnership."

The brothers separate this week, but their relationship remains a focal point: "[Their relationship] begins and ends the episode, and it's a tension that is woven throughout the episode. So it is a present theme this week."

Cas is not in tonight's episode — but when we do find him again, he'll still be alone: "Cas is on his own, continuing to hunt Metatron and figure out how he can get back at Metatron and restore the natural heavenly order. The reluctant leader is something that continues to be a storyline for Cas this season."

But fear not! Cas will reunite with the Winchesters and play a part in all of this Mark of Cain business: "Yes, yes you will see him reunite with the Winchesters. Cas will be woven into [the Mark of Cain] storyline. Dean and Cas are going to attempt to collaborate again."

The war in heaven is going to come to a head by season's end, as will the consequences of Castiel stealing another's Grace: "I don't know about Cas trying to find his own Grace, but I do know that there are side effects. Cas has sort of got a stiff upper lip about it, and he's trying to forge on, but it does become an issue for him."

Expect more on the Men of Letters: "Well, this week we learn more about the Men of Letters' relationship to their ancestors, and we learn about the genesis of Abaddon in her current incarnation."

Cas is not in the spin-off, but we'll still see a lot of him: "Cas is not in the spinoff episode, which is episode 20. But Cas is in the rest of the season: [episodes] 21, 22, and 23."

Supernatural airs tonight at 9 p.m. on The CW.
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FRUGAL TRAVELER Tech Tips, and Warnings, for Budget Travelers

If you're reading this on any device other than a mobile phone, you're behind the times. If I can't persuade you to post this piece on Facebook, I'm doomed to irrelevance. And if you want to tweet a complaint about my bad jokes or ask for a restaurant recommendation in Heathrow, I'd better have a round-the-clock team ready to respond.

O.K., so those lessons were intended not for me but for the travel industry types at EyeforTravel's Social Media and Mobile Strategies for Travel conference, which I attended last week in San Francisco. I did, though, pick up some tips — and a few warnings — about how a budget traveler should maneuver in this fast-changing world.

TIPS

Hold those prices: Several companies allow you to put a no-risk hold on airline tickets for days or weeks for a small fee. If you haven't heard of this, you most likely will. Robert Brown, the founder of OptionsAway, one of those companies, said his service's "call option" will be integrated into more mainstream booking sites within months.

How could it save you money? It's sort of like insurance: capture a low price before your plans are finalized and take a few days or weeks to decide. If you cancel, you lose only the fee. (If the prices goes down, you save more.) A competitor, Level Skies, has the advantage of allowing you to move the travel dates forward or back one day up until when you finalize your purchase. Their interface, though, needs some work — and there's no app yet.

Better photo sharing: Have you already traded a heavy SLR camera for your iPhone when you travel, posting your pictures on Facebook and Instagram? Several sites now help you share your experience more elegantly. A new one that officially launched at the conference and should soon be available at the App Store, Tripstr (iPhone only, at least for now), is designed to turn your photos into an appealing record of your trip that others can view and even add to their own "bucket list." In addition to sharing with others on your Tripstr network, you can share a link through Facebook and email.

Get an emergency interpreter: Google Translate and its automated competitors can be miraculous in everyday situations abroad. But if you really need an interpreter in a difficult situation — when you're a victim of crime, your travel companion lands in the hospital or you're just horribly lost, for example, instant, reasonably priced live translation is hard to come by. A new app due out next month, TalkLingo, undercuts established services like VerbalizeIt by charging $1 a minute, without requiring a subscription or package fee. It will offer 200 languages, with interpreters from 20 major ones from Spanish to Swahili, guaranteed to be available within a minute.

Ready to be pushed? Another conference consensus: users will need to seek information less. Instead, phones will know what you want without asking you. That's an evolution that, in theory, is especially useful for travel. Walking through an unfamiliar city, your phone puts together where you are with what it knows about you and pushes out suggested attractions, historical information, even articles from trusted sources. Budget travelers might be pinged about nearby sales or receive discount offers for the restaurant right across the street. For those of you who find this horrifying, here's some mild solace: Companies (at least those at the conference) know bothering you unnecessarily is a grave danger for this technology.

There are already apps that do this. Google's Field Trip, currently available for iPhone and Android, pushes content to you when you're in the vicinity of a historical site, architectural landmark, shopping area, restaurant or the like. I've tried it in New York, where I've had some success with it — for example, as I passed near a new Mexican restaurant near my home, a review popped up from Eater.com. (Lots of other trusted and lesser-known sites have their content integrated here, like Zagat, Thrillist and Atlas Obscura; you can customize which ones you hear from.)

The new technology is especially designed for what those in the know (now including me) call "wearables" like Google Glass — which several conference attendees were strutting around with — and the company's coming smartwatches). But those are likely to stay expensive for quite a while. Budget travelers who want to try it will have to continue to do stare down at their phones and then stuff them back in their pockets for the time being.

It's not just Field Trip, but other technology that integrates more smoothly into your phone, like Yahoo's Aviate (in beta for Android) or Google Now — which is part of the Google search app — that is now growing on me. On the morning of my 8 a.m. flight from New York to San Francisco for the conference, my alarm did not go off. About an hour later, my phone let out a single beep, and I somehow woke up and looked. "Time to leave for UA 397," it read. "Leave by 6:37 AM to arrive at the airport 60 minutes before your flight." I bolted out of bed, grabbed my bag and hopped in a taxi, barely making the flight and saving a rebooking fee. If I were nit-picking, I'd say it should be smart enough to know I prefer public transportation and ping me an hour earlier, saving me a few more bucks. It's not as if Google doesn't know what I do for a living.

Is customer service transitioning to social media? Shashank Nigam, the chief executive of a research and consulting company called SimpliFlying, told an amazing story of a passenger on Turkish Airlines who, frustrated that the flight attendants would not turn down the heat, vented on Facebook via the plane's free Wi-Fi. Because spots sent from the plane's IP address are flagged, the airline's social media team spotted the comment, contacted the pilot, and a compromise was reached. Many other airlines are also responsive on Twitter: KLM, for example, says it responds to 4,500 tweets and Facebook posts a week, in 10 languages and always within an hour.

I asked Mr. Nigam if some companies had perhaps swung too many resources toward their social media response team to the detriment of call centers. "There is an unfair advantage to the connected traveler," he said. But that's true only with some companies — and don't expect miracle solutions. Just having a Twitter team doesn't instantly make the flood of requests during weather-related cancellations go away, for example. Still, the industry is moving in this direction if you don't have a Twitter or Facebook account, it can't hurt to open one just for this purpose — it might end up saving you time and money.

WARNINGS

You are the marketer: If there was one theme conference participants harped on repeatedly, it was that companies are relying less on traditional advertising campaigns and more on recruiting customers to market on their behalf. Mike De Jesus, head of travel for Twitter, noted that the company had counted 640 million conversations about travel. "There are some good opportunities for you as a brand to jump into these conversations," he told company representatives.

Brands are also popping into Facebook feeds as ads — but what the companies really want is to pop up on your feed under your name. There are companies out there that exist just to help hotels, airlines and the like incentivize customers to give up control of their news feed, at least temporarily. Guests might be offered free drinks or other incentives in exchange for letting hotels post a note in their name on Facebook. I'd file this one under "no thanks," but if you do go ahead with it, just make sure it's a one-time deal. Some efforts are less tacky, as when, in January, Airbnb got hundreds of Instagram users to produce short videos with the hashtag #airbnbshorts. One company at the conference, Silvercar, showed longer, slicker videos by its users — at least one of which was unsolicited.

Reviews required? Your social networks — or at least what's public on them — also help hotels in their efforts to know you before you arrive, allowing them to "delight" you with a personally-tailored surprise. If that appeals, fine — in the places I stay, a clean bathroom is "delight" enough for me.

One presenter caught my ear by noting that hotels can now discover (or hire a company to help discover) which of their guests are frequent reviewers on TripAdvisor, presumably to delight the heck out of them. TripAdvisor says this would be difficult to do, but let's say it isn't. Does anyone see a problem here? I see two: 1) If hotels pamper TripAdvisor reviewers, their presumably rave reviews will bias the site's influential rankings; 2) Nonreviewers become, by default, second-class citizens.

Maintain your independence: Company efforts to create customer loyalty are often bad news for budget travelers — something you already know if you've been tempted to book a more expensive flight just to gain miles toward a theoretical free trip on "your" airline. But that's old news. At the conference, it seemed that companies are now quite keen on having you download their own apps. Those who uses airline apps to access digital boarding passes or hotel apps to bypass check-in lines already know that this can be a very good idea. But be aware that companies can use their app to ping you with offers, and hope that as you become accustomed to the app, you'll use it to book future trips, locking you into their brand instead of doing a broader search on, say, hotels.com. So remember: brand apps for convenience, search apps for booking.
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Obama and World Leaders Turn Focus to Nuclear Security

President Obama with Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, left, and other world leaders and officials in The Hague on Tuesday.

THE HAGUE — President Obama shifted focus on Tuesday from the crisis in Ukraine and turned his attention to the issue that brought him to Europe, convening leaders from around the world to secure dangerous nuclear materials.

The subject of Russia's aggressive takeover of the Crimean Peninsula will return to center stage on Wednesday when Mr. Obama meets with NATO and European Union officials in Brussels. Officials said the president planned to deliver a speech there designed to reassure European allies that the United States remains committed to their security.

But before those meetings, Mr. Obama sought to emphasize the need to prevent terrorists from obtaining the highly enriched uranium and plutonium that would allow them to create nuclear weapons or so-called dirty bombs. In a series of joint statements with other countries, the United States hailed efforts to eliminate the radioactive material or secure it against theft.

The United States and the European Union pledged to work together to combat the trafficking of nuclear materials. Italy and the United States announced that they had agreed to remove from circulation 20 kilograms, or 44 pounds, of uranium and plutonium. The United States and Japan on Monday announced plans to remove or destroy hundreds of kilograms of nuclear material.

Kenneth C. Brill, a former United States ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, praised the progress he said was made by various accords signed during the two-day summit meeting here. It is the third such global gathering since Mr. Obama issued a call in 2009 to work toward a world without nuclear weapons and to secure all nuclear material around the globe.

These are "the world's most dangerous materials," Mr. Brill said. Progress made here and formalized under Dutch auspices should make volunteer states more accountable, he and other experts said.

On Tuesday, Mr. Obama met with President Nursultan A. Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan to discuss the situation in Ukraine and efforts to secure nuclear materials.

Kazakhstan, in part because of its history of suffering fallout from the Semipalatinsk nuclear tests, has been a leader in international nonproliferation efforts, nuclear experts said.

Mr. Nazarbayev, who has led the Central Asian republic since before the Soviet breakup and is an adroit player of East-West power politics, has good ties with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and has signed up to join his Eurasian Union, which the Kremlin leader sees as a counterbalance to the European Union.

Ukraine would be crucial to that Eurasian grouping. With the acting Ukrainian government now turning to the West, Moscow has lost, for now at least, its ability to build a competing economic and political bloc.

A White House statement released after Mr. Obama's meeting with Mr. Nazarbayev said nothing about Ukraine, concentrating instead on moves by Kazakhstan to enhance nuclear security.

Mr. Obama last spoke with the Kazakh leader in a March 10 phone call in which he both emphasized the importance of territorial integrity and sovereignty — the principles the West says Russia has violated in Ukraine. Mr. Obama then "encouraged Kazakhstan to play an active role in finding a peaceful outcome for Ukraine."

The website of the Kazakh newspaper AK Zhaik, reporting on Tuesday's meeting, said that Mr. Nazarbayev had expressed sympathy for Mr. Putin's efforts to "protect the rights of ethnic minorities in Ukraine, as well as its security interests." However, the newspaper also said that he sought a peaceful resolution in Ukraine.

The Russian actions in Ukraine have mostly overshadowed the nuclear summit meeting, but White House officials have said the president remains committed to highlighting the importance of securing nuclear materials.

But Miles Pomper of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif., said that for all Mr. Obama's efforts on the issue, the process relies too much on his personal leadership rather than institutional arrangements.

The next nuclear summit meeting is to be held in 2016 in Washington. After that, it is not certain that the gatherings will continue.
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General Motors Misled Grieving Families on a Lethal Flaw

Michelle and Neil Kosilla with their daughter Lisa. Their other daughter, Amy, 23, was killed in a Chevy Cobalt accident.

It was nearly five years ago that any doubts were laid to rest among engineers at General Motors about a dangerous and faulty ignition switch. At a meeting on May 15, 2009, they learned that data in the black boxes of Chevrolet Cobalts confirmed a potentially fatal defect existed in hundreds of thousands of cars.

But in the months and years that followed, as a trove of internal documents and studies mounted, G.M. told the families of accident victims and other customers that it did not have enough evidence of any defect in their cars, interviews, letters and legal documents show. Last month, G.M. recalled 1.6 million Cobalts and other small cars, saying that if the switch was bumped or weighed down it could shut off the engine's power and disable air bags.

In one case, G.M. threatened to come after the family of an accident victim for reimbursement of legal fees if the family did not withdraw its lawsuit. In another instance, it dismissed a family with a terse, formulaic letter, saying there was no basis for claims.

"We sent the paperwork for the car to them and they said there's nothing to this," said Neil Kosilla, whose 23-year-old daughter, Amy, died in a Cobalt accident in March 2010 after the air bags failed to deploy. "They said we had nothing."


Amy Kosilla died in a Cobalt accident in March 2010.
KOSILLA FAMILY
Since the engineers' meeting in May 2009, at least 23 fatal crashes have involved the recalled models, resulting in 26 deaths. G.M. reported the accidents to the government under a system called Early Warning Reporting, which requires automakers to disclose claims they receive blaming vehicle defects for serious injuries or deaths.

A New York Times review of 19 of those accidents — where victims were identified through interviews with survivors, family members, lawyers and law enforcement officials — found that G.M. pushed back against families in at least two of the accidents, and reached settlements that required the victims to keep the discussions confidential.

In one of those cases, the company settled a lawsuit brought by the family of Hasaya Chansuthus, 25, who crashed her 2006 Cobalt in Murfreesboro, Tenn. After resisting, the company negotiated a deal even though Ms. Chansuthus's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit. Data from the black box — which records vehicle systems information — showed that the key was in the accessory or off position, according to court documents, and the air bags did not deploy. (The accessory position turns off the car, disabling the air bags, but allows certain electronics, like the radio, to run.) The terms of the settlement are confidential.

In other instances, G.M. ignored repeated calls, families said. "We did call G.M.," said Leslie Dueno, whose 18-year-old son, Christopher Hamberg, was killed on June 12, 2009 — not quite a month after the critical May 15 meeting of G.M. engineers about the ignition data — driving his 2007 Cobalt home before dawn in Houston. He lost control at 45 miles per hour and hit a curb, then a tree, the police report said. "Nobody ever called me. They never followed up. Ever."


Christopher Hamberg, 18, died in a Cobalt accident in June 2009.
HAMBERG FAMILY
Last month's recalls of the Cobalt and five other models encompassed model years 2003 through 2007. G.M. faces numerous investigations, including one by the Justice Department looking into the company's disclosures in its 2009 bankruptcy filing as well as what it told regulators.

In the bankruptcy agreement, G.M. was shielded from liability for accidents that occurred before July 10, 2009.

"We are conducting an unsparing, comprehensive review of the circumstances leading to the ignition switch recall," G.M. said in a statement on Monday. "As part of that review we are examining previous claims and our response to them. If anything changes as a result of our review, we will promptly bring that to the attention of regulators."

G.M. has said it has evidence of 12 deaths tied to the switch problem, but it has declined to give details other than to say that they all occurred in 2009 or earlier. It says it has no conclusive evidence of more recent deaths tied to the switch.


Graphic | G.M.'s Own Findings vs. Drivers' Experiences A timeline maps internal findings by General Motors and driver experiences.
"We are doing our best to get this right, which means reviewing the data with care," the company said in its statement. "Not every Cobalt accident is a result of a faulty ignition switch. Accident claims and E.W.R." — Early Warning Reporting — "data are unique, with their own set of facts and other relevant factors. It is wrong to use this information on a speculative basis. Each requires additional analysis and this will be a part of our review."

It was unclear how many of the 26 deaths since the 2009 meeting were related to the faulty ignition, but some appeared to fit patterns that reflected the problem, such as an inexplicable loss of control or air bags that did not deploy. In some cases, the drivers had put themselves at risk, including having high blood-alcohol levels or texting.

Still, by the time Benjamin Hair, 20, crashed into a tree in Charlottesville, Va., on Dec. 13, 2009, while driving a Pontiac G5 home, G.M. had conducted five internal studies about the ignition problem, its records indicate.

Though Mr. Hair used his seatbelt, he died after the car's air bags failed to deploy. His parents were baffled. "The police couldn't tell us what caused the accident," said Brenda Hair, his mother. The Hairs contacted G.M., providing accident reports but no vehicle data, because the car's black box had been destroyed. "They came back and said they'd presented it to their board of engineers, and they couldn't say it was related" to a defect, Ms. Hair said.


Samantha Rowback lost control of the 2006 Cobalt, right, that her brother, Allen Ray Floyd, died in two weeks later in 2009.
MARK COURTNEY FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
By then, employees who knew about the switch problems ranged across the company, from its legal offices at headquarters in Detroit to its test tracks and research labs outside the city. G.M. lawyers had known of one fatal Cobalt accident in 2005, and had settled or worked on several cases. G.M.'s sales department had issued two service bulletins to dealers related to faulty switches, advising them to tell customers to drive without heavy key chains that could jostle the ignition and shut down the car.

On the manufacturing side, the ignition switch as well as the key had been modified for new cars in the middle of model production in late 2006 or early 2007, — an unusual move for such a high-volume part.

By the summer of 2010, G.M. had ended production of Cobalts. Around the same time, three company representatives traveled to a scrapyard in Scranton, Pa., to remove the black box from a 2005 Cobalt that crashed in January 2010, killing Kelly Erin Ruddy, 21. Her mother, Mary, accompanied them. A few days later, on Aug. 4, Mrs. Ruddy received a voice mail message from a G.M. claims administrator named Jemeia Price. In the message, which Mary Ruddy played for a reporter, Ms. Price said that though she had spoken with Ms. Ruddy before, she would not be able to speak again.

"Unfortunately, if you happen to leave me any more messages I won't be returning those calls," said the voice mail. "All communication needs to go through your attorney."


Samantha Rowback's brother, Allen Ray Floyd, died in a Cobalt accident in July 2009.
COURTESY SAMANTHA ROWBACK
The Ruddys never sued the company, Ms. Ruddy said, because their lawyer advised them that it would be an expensive and ultimately futile battle.

In the fall of 2013, months after an eighth internal study on the ignition issue had been issued, G.M. moved to cut off the flow of damaging depositions related to one accident by settling a wrongful-death suit. The suit had been brought by the family of Jennifer Brooke Melton, 29, who lost control of her 2005 Cobalt on a Georgia highway in March 2010 when the key moved to the accessory position, shutting down power and air bags.

When Lance Cooper, a lawyer for the Melton family, deposed Victor Hakim, a senior manager at G.M., Mr. Cooper read more than 80 customer complaints into the official record that were filed with G.M. beginning in 2005 about Cobalts that had unexpectedly stopped and stalled.

G.M. settled the case on Sept. 13. Under the terms of the settlement, the details are confidential.

That same month, lawyers representing G.M. wrote to the lawyer in another wrongful-death case demanding that the lawsuit be withdrawn. The family of Allen Ray Floyd had sued G.M. after Mr. Floyd lost control of a 2006 Cobalt in daylight near Loris, S.C. Two weeks earlier, his sister had lost control of the same vehicle on the same road; she had it towed. The company contended the suit was "frivolous" because the accident occurred on July 3, 2009, a week before the company's bankruptcy agreement took effect, which meant G.M. was not liable for damages.

"They sent us a letter in September telling us to drop our case or else they'd come after us," said William Jordan, the family's lawyer. "They were going to come after me for sanctions, to pay their attorneys' fees."

Mr. Jordan added: "We looked at the prospect of going into bankruptcy court and duking it out with them and looking at the language of the bankruptcy legislation, and it just seemed to be such a big undertaking. We decided to capitulate."

Consumer complaints and claims came to the company in a variety of ways — through lawsuits, calls, letters and emails, warranty claims, or insurance claims. G.M.'s legal staff was the recipient of lawsuits, insurance information, accident reports and any other litigation-related paperwork. But warranty claims and customer calls were routed through the sales and service division — a vast bureaucracy that occupies most of one tower at G.M.'s headquarters in Detroit. Because the legal staff reports to the chief executive, and the sales department to the head of G.M. North America, it is unclear whether they share information related to a specific car, like the Cobalt.

And an even bigger communication gap on the Cobalt appeared to exist between the engineers in Warren, Mich., and the company lawyers in downtown Detroit. The most glaring example was that G.M. officials meeting with federal regulators in March 2007 did not know about a fatal Cobalt wreck in 2005 — even though G.M.'s legal department had had an open file on the case for almost two years.

Within the product development system was an isolated, subgroup of engineers assigned to Cobalt safety tests. According to the chronology G.M. has submitted to federal safety regulators, an unknown number of engineers were involved in opening — and closing — four separate inquiries on the Cobalt between 2004 and 2009. Engineers also performed four other analyses.

By the end of 2007, G.M. had examined data from nine "sensing and diagnostic modules" of crashed vehicles. In four cases, the ignition was in the accessory position. But it was not until May 15, 2009, that G.M. engineers verified the data. That day, they met with officials from its supplier Continental, which manufactured the Cobalt's diagnostic modules, or black boxes. By then G.M. had recovered 14 modules, and according to Continental, the ignition was in the accessory position on seven of the 14 cases. This appears to be the first proven link between a faulty switch and deactivated air bags.

There is no indication that the engineers shared this finding with supervisors or executives. One reason may have been distraction: Two weeks later, the company filed for bankruptcy.

After more study, by Oct. 29, 2013, G.M. could no longer ignore that something was very wrong with the switches.

G.M. officials met that day with the supplier Delphi. Records showed beyond any doubt that substandard ignition switches had been made for the Cobalt at a Delphi plant from 2004 to late 2006. The part had been changed, and every switch made before the change was potentially a fatal accident waiting to happen.

Confirmation of the change was presented on Dec. 17 to the senior Field Performance Evaluation Review Committee, a group so powerful that Mary T. Barra, the head of global product development who was named chief executive a month later, knew of the meeting.

Yet it was not for another six weeks, on Jan. 31, that the review committee directed a recall. And still another two weeks, Feb. 13, before G.M. announced that it was recalling 778,000 vehicles for a safety defect. The number of vehicles was more than doubled to 1.6 million on Feb. 24.

In recent weeks, the parents of Benjamin Hair, the 20-year-old from Virginia killed in December 2009, received a postcard from G.M. announcing the recall. It was one of dozens of letters about their son's car that the company has sent since the crash.

"How many times do I have to tell them?" his mother said. "We don't have the car, and we don't have our son."

Rachel Abrams and Kitty Bennett contributed reporting.
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