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Cuba's Energy Crisis Deepens; West Faces Water, Fire Chaos

Fuel shortages in Cuba, a successful Super Bowl ad campaign for an AI chatbot, and record-low snowpack levels in the western United States dominated the news on Friday, February 13, 2026. These events, along with Presidents' Day deals and striking images from China, highlighted a busy news week.

Cuba faced worsening fuel shortages, leading to rationing and disruptions in public services, according to Euronews. Aviation authorities warned of limited jet fuel supplies, impacting long-haul flights. Public transport stalled, and banks reduced their operating hours. Mexico pledged diplomatic efforts to help resume oil shipments.

Meanwhile, Anthropic's AI chatbot, Claude, saw a surge in popularity following its Super Bowl ad campaign, as reported by TechCrunch. The ads, featuring darkly comedic scenarios of people seeking advice from chatbots, propelled Claude from No. 41 on the U.S. App Store to a top 10 app, reaching No. 7 as of Friday. Appfigures data indicated an estimated 148,000 U.S. downloads across iOS and Android from Sunday through Tuesday, a 32% increase from the preceding three days.

The western United States grappled with record-low snowpack levels, raising concerns about water scarcity and increased wildfire risk, Wired reported. This crisis coincided with states racing against a deadline to agree on water-sharing terms in the Colorado River Basin, the source of water for 40 million people across seven states. "Barring a genuinely miraculous turnaround in the remainder of the winter," said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, "the low snowpack has the potential to worsen both the ecological and political crisis on the Colorado Basin, and then also produce really adverse wildfire conditions in some parts of the West."

In other news, Presidents' Day deals were in full swing, with discounts on various products, including office chairs and robot vacuums, according to Wired. Deals were expected to end on February 17.

Adding a visual element to the week's events, Sky News featured striking images, including a Chinese folk performance known as da shuhua, or molten iron fireworks, ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations in Beijing on February 9.

AI-Assisted Journalism

This article was generated with AI assistance, synthesizing reporting from multiple credible news sources. Our editorial team reviews AI-generated content for accuracy.

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