Talk of a third term: Gov. Bobby Jindal wrapped up his campaign with an historic win—and $4.6 million remaining in his campaign account. Jindal’s top campaign strategist says the governor may just hang on to some of the money to make a bid for a third term as governor. A governor in Louisiana can serve two consecutive terms and then must take a four-year break before being able to run again. Jindal’s chief political strategist, Timmy Teepell, says the 40-year-old Jindal enjoys being governor. Teepell says, “I can’t imagine this is his last term.” The Republican governor raised more than $15 million this election cycle, and spent nearly $11 million.
Taking back the wheel: Toyota Motor Corp. announced today it’s recalling about 550,000 vehicles worldwide—mostly in the United States—for problems that could make steering difficult. The recall affects 447,000 vehicles in North America, as well as 38,000 in Japan and another 25,000 in Australia and New Zealand, says Toyota spokesman Dion Corbett. In Europe some 14,000 vehicles are being recalled along with 10,000 in the Middle East and 14,000 in Asia outside Japan. In the U.S., the automaker is recalling 283,200 Toyota brand cars, including the 2004 and 2005 Camry, Highlander, Sienna and Solara, the 2004 Avalon and the 2006 Highlander HV. Its recall of 137,000 Lexus vehicles includes the 2004 and 2005 ES330 and RX330 and 2006 RX400h. Toyota has received a total of 79 reports about the defect dating back to 2007, says Corbett. There have been no reports of accidents or injuries related to the problems, he adds.
