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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Elon Musk, who U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has tapped to oversee a government cost-cutting effort, acknowledged that his declared goal of cutting $2 trillion in spending from the $6.8 trillion federal budget would be a long shot. “I think if we try for 2 trillion, we’ve got a good shot at getting 1,” Musk, the world’s richest person, said in a discussion on Wednesday with Mark Penn, a political strategist and former … Read more…

By Nate Raymond (Reuters) -Kroger has agreed to pay $110 million to resolve a lawsuit by the state of Kentucky alleging the supermarket chain’s pharmacies helped fuel a deadly opioid epidemic by flooding its communities with hundreds of millions of doses of addictive painkillers. The settlement was announced on Thursday by Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, whose state had opted to not participate in a broader $1.4-billion deal Kroger finalized last year that resolved similar … Read more…

By Dan Peleschuk KYIV (Reuters) – Membership in NATO is the only credible long-term security guarantee Ukraine can receive against future Russian aggression, Finland’s top diplomat said on Wednesday. Donald Trump’s return to the White House on Jan. 20 has sparked hope of a diplomatic resolution to end Moscow’s invasion but also fears in Kyiv that a quick peace could come at a high price. Ukrainian officials including President Volodymyr Zelenskiy have called for strong … Read more…

By Tom Hals WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) – Tesla directors including Chair Robyn Denholm and James Murdoch got court approval on Wednesday for a settlement worth up to $919 million that requires they return compensation to the carmaker to resolve allegations they overpaid themselves. The settlement requires Tesla board members including Denholm and Murdoch to return roughly $277 million in cash, $459 million in stock options and to forgo stock options for 2021-23 worth $184 million. … Read more…

(Reuters) -The NFL regular season has concluded and the teams that qualified for the playoffs are set to begin competing for a chance to make it to the Super Bowl, arguably the biggest single event in U.S. sports with a huge global audience. Here’s everything you need to know about Super Bowl LIX, including who is performing at halftime.   WHERE WILL THE 59th SUPER BOWL BE HELD? The NFL championship game will take place in … Read more…

By Gram Slattery and Helen Reid WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday he sympathized with the Russian position that Ukraine should not be part of NATO, and he lamented that he will not meet Russian President Vladimir Putin before his inauguration. Speaking at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump also blamed outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden for allegedly changing the U.S. position on NATO membership for … Read more…