ISRAEL LAUNCHES $45M US INFLUENCE CAMPAIGN WITH AI TEXTS

According to the Wall Street Journal, Israel's effort to shape American public opinion includes a significant partnership with Parscale's firm and coordinated messaging through digital channels. The campaign represents a major investment in U.S. sentiment management, leveraging artificial intelligence and political operatives with established connections to Republican circles. In other tech news: BlackRock is leading a $12B+ debt sale for Meta's El Paso data center, with Meta also signing a lease for a BlackRock-backed Pennsylvania facility. Microsoft and Mistral finalized a multibillion-dollar partnership to build European data centers and integrate Mistral's AI models into Microsoft's cloud services, including Copilot and Azure Local. OpenAI added Nubank CEO David Vélez and BNY CEO Robin Vince to its board as the company moves toward a public listing. Nearly 200 U.S. utilities and data center developers signed Trump's pledge to prevent AI energy consumption from raising consumer electric bills, though enforcement remains uncertain given state-level utility regulation.