Klobuchar Announces Bid for Minnesota Governor Amidst National and International Developments
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced her candidacy for Minnesota governor on Thursday, entering the race after incumbent Tim Walz ended his re-election campaign early due to criticism of his handling of a fraud scandal in the state, according to BBC World. Klobuchar, a four-term senator, released a video calling for unity across party lines, positioning herself as someone "willing to find common ground" to heal political divisions.
Klobuchar's announcement came amidst a backdrop of significant developments in both the technology and business sectors. Tesla reported a 3% decline in annual revenue for 2025, its first decrease, as the company shifts its focus to artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, BBC Technology reported. Profits for the electric vehicle (EV) maker fell 61% in the last three months of the year. Tesla also announced plans to discontinue production of its Model S and Model X vehicles, repurposing its California plant to manufacture humanoid robots known as Optimus. This shift comes after China's BYD overtook Tesla as the world's largest EV maker in January.
Meanwhile, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, plans to nearly double its spending on AI projects this year, according to BBC Technology. The company anticipates spending up to $135 billion, primarily on AI-related infrastructure. This is nearly double the $72 billion Meta spent on AI projects and infrastructure last year. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated on Wednesday that he expects "2026 to be the year that AI dramatically changes the way we [interact with the world]."
In other business news, Paul Patterson, the European chief executive of Fujitsu, the company behind the Post Office Horizon IT system, is set to step down in March, BBC Business reported. Patterson, 60, will transition to non-executive chairman of Fujitsu's UK business, where he will "continue managing the company's response" to the inquiry into the Horizon scandal. This transition is part of a long-planned process, and Patterson is expected to remain with the company until the inquiry is complete.
Internationally, The Guardian published an analysis exploring whether Venezuela's Delcy Rodríguez could emulate Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms in China. The article examines the possibility of Rodríguez, Maduro's successor, ushering in an era of reform and opening up, modeled on China's post-Mao boom.
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