The nation in brief

Oil spills into central Oklahoma pond

YUKON, Okla. -- Authorities said Sunday that oil from a broken pipeline spilled into a pond near a central Oklahoma neighborhood.

Officials said oil began flowing into the pond about 3:35 a.m. Sunday near a neighborhood in Yukon, Okla., located about 17 miles west of Oklahoma City.

Oil was bubbling up from under the water in a 10-acre pond after being released from a broken 16-inch pipeline. Officials said a heavy amount of oil was observed on the surface of the pond before pipeline workers shut off the flow of oil.

Fire officials in Yukon said they have received multiple calls from nearby homeowners complaining about a foul smell created by the oil spill. No evacuations were ordered.

Authorities said remediation workers were at the scene to contain the oil spill.

Facebook to verify political ad buyers

MENLO PARK, Calif. -- Facebook will soon rely on centuries-old technology to try to prevent foreign meddling in U.S. elections: the post office.

Baffled in 2016 by Russian agents who bought ads to sway the U.S. presidential campaign, Facebook's global politics and government outreach director, Katie Harbath, told a meeting of the National Association of Secretaries of State in Washington on Saturday that the company would send postcards to potential buyers of political ads to confirm they reside in the U.S.

The recipient would then have to enter a code in Facebook to continue buying the ad. The method will first apply to ads that name candidates ahead of the midterm elections in November, said Facebook spokesman Andy Stone.

Facebook did not say how the new postcard method of verification would prevent foreign agents from setting up local mailing addresses and hiring people in the U.S. to check them. But Stone said the method was "one piece of a much larger effort to address foreign electoral influence on our platform."

Plane work to create 400 Georgia jobs

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. -- Robins Air Force Base in central Georgia will soon begin doing overhaul maintenance on the C-130 airplanes flown by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

The work will eventually mean about 400 new jobs, The Telegraph reported.

Brig. Gen. John Kubinec, commander of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex, made the announcement recently to the Houston County Development Authority.

"This is a great opportunity for our professional workforce and we welcome this opportunity to provide first-class sustainment of the C-130 Hercules fleet," Kubinec said in a news release.

The C-130 Hercules, still being built at the Lockheed-Martin plant in Marietta, is known as a workhorse that is capable of a wide variety of missions.

The Navy uses the plane for transport of troops and cargo, as well as aerial refueling and close air support. The four-engine, propeller-driven plane can also be used for firefighting, weather reconnaissance, medical evacuation and search and rescue.

Panel hopes to help felons find work

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A proposal in the Missouri Legislature seeks to give convicted felons a second chance in pursuing a career.

A House committee last week approved a bill that would ease restrictions on convicted felons in the workplace. Among other things, people with felony convictions aren't allowed to sell alcohol or lottery tickets.

Kansas City restaurant operator Anton Kotar told the Kansas City Star he's hired 25 people with felony convictions. But at Anton's Taproom, he has to make sure the felons he hired as dishwashers don't go near the bar or even clear off tables where there is still alcohol in a glass.

The measure has bipartisan support.

"Being convicted of a felony shouldn't automatically disqualify someone from an entry-level job, especially when they've served their time and are trying to find ways to begin the process of re-entry into society," said Sen. Caleb Rowden, a Columbia Republican sponsoring the legislation.

Kotar, speaking recently in Jefferson City, told lawmakers that the ban on felons selling liquor or lottery tickets is "a crazy law, in my opinion."

"Who among us has not done something that we wish we could take back?" he asked.

-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports

A Section on 02/19/2018

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