OUR PICKSNew Year’s Attacks Fuel Fears of Extremism in Military | Stopping Knife Crime Needs to Start in the Kitchen | FBI Seized Largest Cache of Explosive Devices in Its History, and more

New Year’s Attacks Fuel Fears of Extremism in Military  (Brad Dress, The Hill)
he primary suspects in two deadly attacks on New Year’s Day shared a history of service in the U.S. military, underscoring persistent fears over extremism within the armed services that officials have struggled to uproot. 

Carrying Out Extremist Violence  (Nick Turse, Intercept)
The mass murder in New Orleans and Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas fit a troubling pattern among U.S. vets, research says.

What Inspires Veterans or Service Members to Carry Out Violence and Extremism?  (Nick Schifrin, PBS)
Law enforcement says there is no evidence of any connection between the New Orleans truck attacker and the man who drove a Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas, but their military service overlapped. So is there a pattern that we can discern and what are some of the possible reasons veterans or active duty soldiers could turn to extremism? Nick Schifrin discussed that with Heidi Beirich.

Bid to Tackle Extremism in U.S. Military Unlikely to Be Revived Under Trump  (Richard Luscombe, Guardian)
Twin terror attacks bring renewed focus on scourge of extremism, but efforts to effect change have so far stalled.

Trump Blamed Foreigners for Terror Attack. The Truth May Not Matter  (Gordon Rayner, The Telegraph)
Whether New Orleans terrorist is an American or not, president-elect has seen a chance to press home anti-migration message.

Why Stopping Knife Crime Needs to Start in the Kitchen  (Graham Farrell and Toby Davies, The Conversation)
Knives are the murder weapon of choice in the UK. And despite sensational headlines about zombie knives and machetes, the most popular knife by far for murder in is the pointed kitchen knife. In England and Wales in the last year, it was used in more than half of murders where the type of knife was known, compared with 4% for zombie knives.

Inspired by ISIS: From a Taylor Swift plot in Vienna to Carnage in New Orleans  (Souad Mekhennet and Joby Warrick, Washington Post)
In the Bourbon Street rampage, a foiled bombing of a European pop concert and other recent attacks, a pattern of self-radicalization breeds terrorists influenced by ISIS propaganda.

Biden Blocks Sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel  (Bob Tita and Catherine Lucey, Wall Street Journal)
Yearlong campaign by Japanese steelmaker for $14.1 billion deal crashes against opposition to foreign ownership.

FBI Says It Seized the Largest Cache of Explosive Devices in Its History at Virginia Farm  (Mike Snider, USA Today)
A nearly two-year FBI investigation of a Virginia man led to what the agency calls its largest-ever seizure by number of finished explosive devices.