United States

Two months ago, a U.S. Navy coastal patrol ship in the Persian Gulf changed course after what the US military subsequently described was an Iranian fast-attack craft "harassing" it by coming within 100 yards. At the time Defense Department officials dubbed the interaction "unsafe and unprofessional due to lack of communications and the close-range harassing maneuvering" and noted that uncovered and manned weapons were seen on the Iranian vessel.

Russian media examines whether there is still a chance of a Hillary Clinton White House. US Electoral College voters are set to elect the US president and vice president on December 19. The meeting of electors could find President-elect Donald Trump unfit for office, opening a path for Hillary Clinton to the White House. Sputnik reports: The November 8 presidential election in the US was not, in fact, the final point of the election process of the US head of state.

In its 2017 global strategy outlook note titled "Sparkle and Fade", Morgan Stanley is bittersweet about the future.

Authored by Anatole Kaletsky, originally posted at Project Syndicate,

 For those of us who were wrong about the United States’ presidential election, it is worth suppressing emotional reactions, at least for a month or two, and attempting a dispassionate judgment about what Donald Trump’s administration may mean for the world. So here are ten likely consequences of the Trump presidency, divided equally between the good and the bad.

The Daily Bell 

US Domestic Tumult – Orchestrated or Not?

• No, Russian Agents Are Not Behind Every Piece of Fake News You See  … Making everyone who shares fake news part of a Russian conspiracy is not helpful. One of the themes that has emerged during the controversy over “fake news” and its role in the election of Donald Trump is the idea that Russian agents of various kinds helped hack the process by fueling this barrage of false news. But is that really true?  – Fortune