News Brief Feb. 12-16

International:

The president of Poland is meeting with the CEO of Lockheed and Martin to discuss investments in military equipment. 

Poland’s National Security Bureau said the conversations revolved around, “‘securing the participation of Poland’s defense sector’ in deliveries and maintenance of U.S. weapons such as jet fighters, Javelin missiles and elements of the High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). Lockheed Martin makes Javelins, HIMARS and some jet fighters,” ABC reported.

With a war waging on its Eastern border in Ukraine, Poland is spending upwards of ten billion dollars on military equipment sourced from the United States and South Korea. 

In 2022, Poland spent 4% of its GDP on defense, doubling the NATO recommendation of 2%. The 2024 budget has allocated 3.1% of Poland’s GDP for defense.

National:

William “Bill” Post, the creator of Pop Tarts, has died at 96. Post was one of 7 children born to Dutch immigrants in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

“Fast forward 20 years, and Bill as the plant manager of Hekman (later known as the Keebler Company) welcomed some executives from Kellogg’s who asked if he thought it would be possible for Keebler to create a new product they had in mind,” according to his obituary.

This opportunity created the Pop Tart, though Post describes it as: “I assembled an amazing team that developed Kellogg’s concept of a shelf-stable toaster pastry into a fine product that we could bring to market in the span of just four months.” 

Four flavors of Pop Tarts — strawberry, blueberry, brown sugar cinnamon and apple-currant — hit the market for the first time in 1964. The flavors have expanded to include 20-30 variations. 

Even after Post’s retirement, he agreed to be a consultant for Kellog’s which resulted in  “worldwide travel and the forging of international friendships. In 2003, Bill and Florence came full circle, moving back to Grand Rapids to be near their family.” 

Local:

Rep. Chad Cladwell (R-Enid) has proposed a bill to restrict the usage of social media among minors under the age of 16. 

“I think it’s one of those things when you talk to just about any teenager, they will tell you about the mental health issues they’re facing today, whether that be increases in anxiety or depression. Unfortunately, things as far as self-harm, cutting, suicide attempts; I think one of the main drivers to that, sadly, is our social media accounts,” Cladwell said.

HB3914 would require social media companies to prompt users with an age verification process. Options for identity verification could include: 

• A digitized identification card, including a digital copy of a driver’s license
• A government-issued identification
• Any commercially reasonable age verification method.

Rep. Melissa Provenzano (D-Tulsa) expressed concerns with security. 

“Perhaps we’re not encompassing the top social media platforms that kids access like TikTok, Snapchat, those sorts of things may or may not be carved out because the language is a little vague. The other piece is the privacy concern with regard to having to upload an ID to one of these social media platforms who have been hacked a number of times. I would love to see other options for proving who you are,” Rep. Provenzano said. 

To combat a security risk, the bill would require social media companies to delete the information once the age verification is met. 

Rep. Cladwell said he has only consulted with one company on the bill so far. HB3914 unanimously passed through the Government Modernization and Technology Committee and will continue to the floor for further debate.

Bonus News

The Tulsa favorite gas station, QuickTrip, opened its first location in the metro on Thursday. The location is located near Southeast 27th Street and Interstate 35 in Moore. 

A second location will open in April of 2024 near I-35 and Hefner.