UPDATE 2-SK Innovation flags steady Q4 growth in refining margins

AFP
US Congress passes bill to avert shutdown
The US Congress averted a Christmastime government shutdown early Saturday after weeks of tense negotiations that went down to the wire, passing a bill to fund federal agencies through mid-March.Trump had been clear that he was willing to see a shutdown if he did not get his way, and the passage of funding legislation without his priorities included demonstrated that even his great influence over Republicans in Congress has limits.
Reuters
Biden approves $571 million in defense support for Taiwan
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday agreed to provide $571.3 million in defense support for Taiwan, the White House said, while the State Department approved the potential sale to the island of $265 million worth of military equipment. The United States is bound by law to provide Chinese-claimed Taiwan with the means to defend itself despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties between Washington and Taipei, to the constant anger of Beijing. Democratically governed Taiwan rejects China's claims of sovereignty.
USA TODAY
Congress approves changes to Social Security for some public sector workers
The legislation will now go to President Joe Biden's desk and is expected to be signed into law.
AFP
Sierra Leone student tackles toxic air pollution
In his small Freetown workshop, engineering student James Samba tinkered with batteries and electrical parts he hoped could help clean up Sierra Leone's polluting public transport system.- 'Good for business, environment' - Samba first ventured into engineering when he built an electric wheelchair for his uncle, who had long struggled to access public transport.
AFP
German leader to visit site of deadly Christmas market attack
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other politicians will Saturday visit the scene of a bloody car-ramming that targeted visitors to a Christmas fair in an old market city.Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser will on Saturday visit the market, where well-wishers had already left flowers of condolences.
Reuters
US Senate approves Social Security change despite fiscal concerns
The U.S. Congress early on Saturday passed a measure to boost Social Security retirement payments to some retirees who draw public pensions - such as former police and firefighters - which critics warned will further weaken the program's finances. The Senate in a 76-20 bipartisan vote shortly after midnight approved the Social Security Fairness Act, which would repeal two-decades-old provisions that can reduce benefits for people who also receive a pension. The House of Representatives last month approved the bill in a 327-75 vote, which means that Senate approval sends it to Democratic President Joe Biden to sign into law.
CBS News
Senate approves bill to expand Social Security to millions of Americans
Senators approve a bill to expand Social Security benefits to millions of Americans, with President Biden expected to sign it into law.
Associated Press
Florida requires teaching Black history. Some don't trust schools to do it justice
Buried among Florida's manicured golf courses and sprawling suburbs are the artifacts of its slave-holding past: the long-lost cemeteries of enslaved people, the statutes of Confederate soldiers that still stand watch over town squares, the old plantations turned into modern subdivisions that bear the same name. In an old wooden bungalow in Delray Beach, Charlene Farrington and her staff gather groups of teenagers on Saturday mornings to teach them lessons she worries that public schools won't provide. Florida students are giving up their Saturday mornings to learn about African American history at the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum in Delray Beach and in similar programs at community centers across the state.
Associated Press
Farmers are still reeling months after Hurricane Helene ravaged crops across the South
Twisted equipment and snapped tree limbs still litter Chris Hopkins’ Georgia farm more than two months after Hurricane Helene made its deadly march across the South. The mangled remains of a grain bin sat crumpled by a road. On a Friday in early December, Hopkins dragged burly limbs from the path of the tractor-like machine that picks his cotton crop six rows at a time.
AFP
16 injured after Israel hit by Yemen-launched 'projectile'
Israel's military said Saturday it had failed to intercept a "projectile" launched from Yemen that landed in Tel Aviv, with the national medical service saying 16 people were lightly wounded.Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's emergency medical service, said 16 people were injured.
Associated Press
Santa and Mrs. Claus use military transports to bring Christmas to an Alaska Native village
Forget the open-air sleigh overloaded with gifts and powered by flying reindeer. Santa and Mrs. Claus this week took supersized rides to southeast Alaska in a C-17 military cargo plane and a camouflaged Humvee, as they delivered toys to the Tlingit village of Yakutat, northwest of Juneau. The visit was part of this year’s Operation Santa Claus, an outreach program of the Alaska National Guard to largely Indigenous communities in the nation’s largest state.
Associated Press
After shooting, Wisconsin school and church lean into Christmas message for comfort
For Christians around the world, Christmas is the joyful celebration of the birth of Jesus. To affirm their beliefs — that God is present and hasn’t abandoned them — the faith community at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, is embracing its holiday traditions just days after a deadly shooting there. “When people say, ‘Where is your God?’ He is more evident now than he’s ever been to us,” the Rev. Sarah Karlen told The Associated Press.
CBS News
What to know about the winter solstice, 2024's shortest day
The 2024 winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, happens on Saturday, Dec. 21, and is marked with traditions and celebrations around the world.
Associated Press
AP PHOTOS: Scenes of devastation from the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami
On Dec. 26, 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the west coast of Sumatra, causing a massive wave that devastated Asian coastal communities across thousands of miles. In these photos, a resident of a fishing village in India's Tamil Nadu state contemplates the remains of her house as fires continue to burn in her village. In Thailand, dozens of bodies are lined up at a Buddhist temple, and a young Swedish boy carries a sign listing family members he hasn't seen since they were swept out to sea from their beachfront hotel.
Associated Press
Sectarian violence in Syria has been less intense than feared since Assad's ouster
The toppling of Bashar Assad has raised tentative hopes that Syrians might live peacefully and as equals after a half century of authoritarian rule. While there have been bursts of deadly sectarian violence in the days since Assad was ousted, it’s nothing close to what was feared after nearly 14 years of civil war. Much credit for the relative calm so far is being given to the Islamic militant group that led the insurgency against Assad and is helping to rebuild the country and unite its many factions.
TODAY
Starbucks union announces strike to last through Christmas Eve in 3 major cities
Starbucks Workers United announced baristas will strike starting Friday in three key markets — Seattle, Los Angeles and Chicago.
AFP
Google counters bid by US to force sale of Chrome
Google late Friday countered a US call to sell its Chrome browser, suggesting a judge address antitrust concerns by barring the firm from making favorable treatment of its software a condition of licensing.Google filed a 12-page proposed order banning the internet giant from requiring favorable distribution or treatment of its software on mobile devices as a condition of licensing popular apps like Chrome, Play or Gemini.
CNN
Tel Aviv hit by projectile fired from Yemen, say Israeli officials
A projectile fired from Yemen struck Tel Aviv overnight into Saturday, Israeli authorities said, in a rare instance of a failed interception over the city.
NBC News
Teamsters announce strike against Amazon amid holiday delivery rush
The Teamsters union announced a strike against Amazon on Thursday morning, with workers joining picket lines in four states in what they claim is the largest strike against the delivery giant in history.
NBC News
How false claims that the Madison school shooter was transgender spread online
It’s become common for anti-trans social media users to quickly spread false or unverified claims about the gender identities of shooting suspects.

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