FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged Thursday amid uncertainty about how volatile energy prices will affect inflation.

The Ukrainian attacks on the sprawling Russian warehouses produced stark images, with massive pillars of black smoke rising above fires that raged at facilities for Wildberries, the country’s biggest online retailer and its equivalent of Amazon.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Union Pacific struck a deal with Canadian National to secure that rival’s support for its proposed $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern railroad. The deal to create the nation’s first transcontinental railroad has been divisive within the industry because it would concentrate so much market power in the hands of one company.

Before the war in Iran, roughly 15 million barrels of Persian Gulf oil were shipped each day through the Strait of Hormuz. Within a few years, much of that oil could bypass the strait. As Iran’s chokehold over the strait drags on and oil prices surge, countries across the Gulf are planning to spend billions of dollars to build pipelines.

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump on Thursday will have governors and electricity companies join a voluntary pledge to shield U.S. consumers from higher utility bills from data centers – a sign of how the artificial intelligence build- out has become a lightning rod of controversy before the midterm elections.

Tesla said Wednesday that its profits fell last quarter as the car company run by Elon Musk shoveled more money into research and development, cutting into profits from a sharp increase in vehicle sales.

Google parent company Alphabet Inc. posted stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter, a sign that it’s massive artificial intelligence spending spree is paying off so far and advertising revenue is coming in strong.