Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said he was “not interested in sending a statement” to their title rivals, after victory over hard-working Crystal Palace gave them a second successive Premier League win.

The Reds – who finished fourth, 25 points behind champions Manchester City, last season – were worthy winners at Selhurst Park and join five other teams, including City, on six points after two games.

James Milner gave them the lead with a penalty after Mohamed Salah was brought down by Mamadou Sakho in the closing seconds of the first half.

Palace had young defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka sent off with 15 minutes left after he brought down Salah when the Egyptian was through on goal.

And Sadio Mane wrapped up the points in injury time when he ran from his own half before rounding Wayne Hennessey to score.

The Eagles had chances, and Andros Townsend curled an effort on to the bar after a mistake by the otherwise impressive Naby Keita.

“I am not interested in sending a statement to Manchester City or anyone else,” Klopp said. “I want to win football games and that’s what we did.”

The Reds manager said he was unconcerned by City’s 6-1 win over Huddersfield – or any other result.

“It’s very early,” said the German. “I couldn’t care less really. We are not in a race with other Premier League teams each weekend.

“It is too strong to say anything after two match days. You can discuss whatever you want – just do it without us.”

Were the big decisions right?

Palace manager Roy Hodgson was furious with the penalty decision – but accepted Wan-Bissaka’s red card.

For the penalty, former Liverpool defender Sakho put his arms on Salah and then had two attempts to trip the forward, who went down.

“We probably did enough to get a result but that was taken from us,” Hodgson told BBC Sport. “I don’t think it was a penalty. I’m angered that a good result was taken from us.”

But BBC Radio 5 live pundit Chris Sutton said: “Sakho had a couple of nibbles. I think that’s a penalty. Salah was tripped. There was enough contact. I can understand Palace fans are frustrated but it’s bad defending.”

The Premier League is the only one of Europe’s top five leagues not to use video assistant referees this season – but even if a VAR official or referee Michael Oliver had the option of watching it again, it may not have been overturned.

The same was true when Wan-Bissaka clipped Salah before he could reach the penalty area. The Egyptian had possibly lost control before the tackle came, and some fans were not convinced about the decision, but Sutton said the referee had “no choice”.

Hodgson agreed. “Wan-Bissaka catches him,” he said. “I don’t think he tried to pull him down but there was contact and he pulled him down. It was the right decision. He was the last man and did his best to rescue the situation. In another game he might have got a toe on the ball. I don’t blame him at all.”

Liverpool do enough to win

Liverpool, who are being widely tipped to sustain a title challenge this season, were never likely to follow up their 4-0 opening-day win over West Ham with a similar result at Selhurst Park against a team in good form.

But they dominated, having more possession than the Eagles, who were on the back foot for most of the game.

Salah, who scored 44 goals last season and once on the opening day, did not look at full sharpness – but he was still involved in all of Liverpool’s best moments.

The Egyptian, who was fouled for the penalty and the red card, had a couple of shots blocked and missed with two chips over Hennessey.

That said, though Wan-Bissaka is quick, it felt as though the Salah of last year may not have been caught – and it does appear he may have lost possession even had he not been fouled.

But he still set up Mane’s late goal after Palace committed players forward for a corner. Salah played the ball to Mane, who ran 50 yards before going round the keeper and tapping into an empty net.

“In these moments the fuel is really low and maybe the players need a bit of help from an angry manager – ‘run or I will kill you’ – and they did that with a fantastic counter-attack,” said Klopp.

Keita looked in good form, with plenty of midfield running, forcing two saves from Hennessey, as well as shooting wide.

Reds keeper Alisson kept another clean sheet, saving well from a Luka Milivojevic free-kick. He also showed good skill and confidence to step past Christian Benteke near his goalline in the first half.

Simon Mignolet was on the Reds bench, with Loris Karius – who was in the stands – set to join Besiktas on a two-year loan deal.

Palace’s unbeaten run comes to an end

The Eagles, who were unbeaten in seven Premier League games going back to a 2-1 defeat by Liverpool on 31 March, worked hard and had chances but were second best against talented opposition.

Their biggest chance came when Townsend got the ball outside the box and sent a brilliant effort on to the crossbar, with Alisson beaten.

Milivojevic also went close with his free-kick, and Wilfried Zaha, who signed a new five-year deal this week, had a low shot saved in the second half.

Benteke never looked like adding to his two goals in 2018 when a shot from 20 yards out went towards the corner flag.

Full-back Wan-Bissaka played well and was involved in a good duel with Mane on Palace’s left-hand side – and he was applauded off the pitch by home fans after denying Salah a chance to score with his red-card tackle.

Hodgson brought on summer signing Max Meyer for a late debut, but the German was not able to have an impact.

Hodgson said: “I thought we pushed them very hard. We should have come in at 0-0 at half-time and the the second half would have been even tougher. We gave them enough problems and we can consider ourselves unlucky to lose 2-0.

“I’m more interested in the fact we played really well [than talking about the referee].”

Man of the match – Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

“I don’t know a lot of centre-backs in the world who can deal with Christian Benteke like Van Dijk did,” said Klopp after the game.

Stats – Mane scores against Eagles again

• Mane has scored six goals in his eight Premier League appearances against Palace, more than he has against any other side.
• Liverpool won their 34th Premier League game played on a Monday – only Man Utd (43) and Arsenal (36) have more victories.
• The Reds have lost only one of their past 10 Premier League games, winning six and drawing three.
• Palace have won just two of their previous 20 Premier League games played against ‘big six’ sides at Selhurst Park (D2 L16).
• Hodgson suffered his 100th defeat in the Premier League as a manager (W87 D65).
• Wan-Bissaka is the youngest Palace player to be shown a red card in the Premier League (20 years, 267 days).
• Milner extended his record for the most Premier League games scored in without losing any of them (48 games: W38 D10).
• He has scored 13 of the 15 penalties that he has taken in the Premier League, including nine of his 10 for Liverpool in the competition. Milner is the first player to score eight consecutive Premier League goals from penalties.

What’s next?

Liverpool host Brighton on Saturday (17:30 BST), a day before Palace are at Watford (13:30 BST).

Fifty-one percent of all incidents of violence and threats against schools took place in just 10 states during the 2017-18 school year, a report released Monday finds. 

California, Florida, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina and Virginia, which are ranked the top 10 “states of concern,” accounted for 1,851 threats and episodes of violence out of 3,654 nationwide, according to the Educator’s School Safety Network. 

Though this year’s states of concern are located around the country and have varying gun-control policies, a few factors link them together, said Amy Klinger, director of programs at the ESSN, an education-based non-profit focusing on violence prevention in schools. 

States with hundreds of school districts may have problems coordinating responses to violence, Klinger said, pointing to Ohio’s 613 school districts. Ohio schools had 170 threats and 14 incidents of violence the past school year. 

“It’s very difficult to make sweeping changes when you have 613 different government bodies making decisions,” said Klinger, who co-authored the report.

Schools also might have a plan in place for an active shooter, but they rarely fund preventative measures such as direct training for teachers and administrators to address potential threats, Klinger said. 

A rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in February, in which 17 died, put a renewed focus on violence in the classroom and security and galvanized a student-run movement on gun control. President Donald Trump also ignited a firestorm by calling for teachers to be armed, and the debate continues to rage over how to stop the bloodshed.

Adam Winkler, a professor at the UCLA School of Law and a gun-control policy expert, said certain states could see more threats or violence because of outside influences, such as access to guns in a community or the presence of gangs in urban areas.  

“There’s a whole bunch of different factors that you can expect to lead to hotspots and gun violence on campus,” Winkler said. 

The study also ranks states by how many threats against schools and violent incidents occurred per million residents, showing whether states have a proportionate number of threats and incidents based on their size. In this category, the top states were Michigan, Ohio, Alabama, Kentucky, Washington, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Florida, North Carolina, Colorado and Idaho during the 2017-18 school year.

Nine of these 11 states saw upticks in their ranking from the 2016-17 school year to the 2017-18 school year. Michigan was in 10th place last year, but it is in first place this year. Mississippi and Kentucky were in 44th place and 39th place last year, and they are in sixth place and fourth place this year.  

Klinger said these increases are important because, in less populated states, even a few threats of school violence can have educators on edge. 

“Some states went from basically last to being in the top 10,” Klinger said. “When you have a couple of significant incidents, it really can change the dynamic of safety in your state.”  

In March, the House passed the STOP School Violence Act to give more than $1 billion to schools and local governments over the next decade for violence prevention. 

But threats and violence that flared in the 2017-18 school year should be a warning to educators around the country, Klinger said.

“We have seen that there are threats and incidents of violence that occur in literally every state,” she said. “So, it’s really incumbent upon every school to take a look at what they need to do.”

 

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England fly-half Danny Cipriani has been fined £2,000 by his club Gloucester after a nightclub incident in Jersey last week.

The 30-year-old had already been fined £2,000 by magistrates after pleading guilty to assault and resisting arrest.

And he was charged by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) on Friday with “conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game”.

Cipriani has also been told by his club to do 10 hours of community service.

A Gloucester Rugby statement described Cipriani’s transgression as a “minor incident”.

It added: “While Danny is very apologetic for his actions, we do not believe he is guilty of bringing the game into disrepute and he will continue to get our full support.”

Gloucester chief executive Stephen Vaughan previously criticised the timing of the RFU charge, which came before the club had finished their investigation.

The RFU hearing is scheduled to take place this week, though the date, time and members of the independent panel are yet to be confirmed by the governing body.

Former Wasps and Sale fly-half Cipriani, who moved to Kingsholm in the summer, was in Jersey with his club as part of a pre-season tour.

Police were called when he tried to grab a body camera off a doorman at Drift nightclub in The Royal Yacht Hotel, St Helier.

As well as being fined, he was ordered by magistrates to pay £250 compensation to a female police officer.

Three other charges – assault on police, larceny and being disorderly on licensed premises – were dropped.

Cipriani was recalled by England for the Test series against South Africa in June, after three years out of the squad.

His club fine will be donated to a local charity for sick and disabled children, and the players’ union charity, which supports players forced to retire through illness or injury.

As part of his community service, Cipriani will work with Gloucester staff coaching local children.

Gloucester begin their Premiership season against Northampton at Kingsholm on 1 September (14:00 BST).

Has the #MeToo movement just suffered a black eye? Maybe, maybe not. 

After taking a leading role in the movement to call out sexual abuse, Italian actress Asia Argento is herself facing accusations: that she had sex with an underage boy in a Los Angeles-area hotel room in 2013 and quietly arranged to pay him off shortly after she publicly accused Harvey Weinstein of raping her.

The news was shocking enough to leave #MeToo champions stunned and groping for something to say in answer to questions about whether this would, should or could damage #MeToo, the culture-changing movement to press sexual abuse allegations against powerful men in multiple industries, especially Hollywood. 

Laura Palumbo, communications director for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center in Washington, sounded somewhat forlorn and careful in what she told USA TODAY on Monday. 

“We’re all sort of collectively processing what this means for the #MeToo movement,” she said about her organization, which has been a leading voice in anti-sexual violence advocacy. “From our perspective this doesn’t undermine the movement…MeToo has always been bigger than one case or any one story.”

But it was a shocking story: The New York Times, citing an encrypted email it received from an unidentified sender that contained legal documents, reported late Sunday that Argento, 42, agreed in a private settlement to pay $380,000 to a former child actor-turned-rock musician, Jimmy Bennett, who said she sexually assaulted him in a Marina del Rey hotel room shortly after he turned 17. Argento was 37 at the time.

The age of consent in California is 18, then and now, so it’s a crime – statutory rape – to have sex with someone who is under the age of 18. Moreover, the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse, while complicated, is generally 10 years in California. 

The Times said the documents it examined included a selfie of the two lying in bed. “As part of the agreement, Mr. Bennett, who is now 22, gave the photograph and its copyright to Ms. Argento. Three people familiar with the case said the documents were authentic,” the paper reported.

The two actors had appeared together in “The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things,” a 2004 film that Argento directed, starred in and helped write. Bennett, who has a credits list dating back to 2002, was 7 when he was cast in the film.

A picture on Argento’s Instagram page dated May 9, 2013, shows a partial view of the two of them. “Happiest day of my life reunion with @jimmymbennett xox,” she captioned the photo.

So far, neither Argento nor Bennett nor their lawyers or representatives have commented to USA TODAY. The Times said Bennett’s lawyer, Gordon Sattro, gave them a statement saying Bennett would “continue doing what he has been doing over the past months and years, focusing on his music.”

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the police agency for Marina del Rey (just north of LAX), has not returned an email from USA TODAY seeking information on whether anyone hasfiled a police report about this encounter or if detectives are investigating. 

More: Harvey Weinstein scandal: A complete list of the 87 accusers

Greg Risling, a spokesman for the Los Angeles district attorney’s office, which has set up a special task force to review allegations against Hollywood men accused of sex crimes, had no information on whether any case involving allegations against Argento had been presented to his office by a police agency.  

But advocates of #MeToo grappled with the news gingerly. Argento is one of the key figures in the movement, having been one of the first to publicly accuse fallen movie mogul Weinstein of rape.

“If this happened, there is no way to justify it, no way to excuse it, even if (Argento) is a victim,” of sexual assault, says women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred, a #MeToo leader who represents one of three women whose sexual-assault accusations against Weinstein are now being prosecuted in criminal court in Manhattan. Argento is not one of them.

Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and has consistently denied any non-consensual sex since he was first accused of sexual abuse in double exposes in the Times and The New Yorker in October 2017. On Monday, his lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, released a statement assailing Argento for a “stunning level of hypocrisy.”

“What is perhaps most egregious is the timing, which suggests that at the very same time Argento was working on her own secret settlement for the alleged sexual abuse of a minor, she was positioning herself at the forefront of those condemning Mr. Weinstein,” Brafman said in the statement sent to USA TODAY. 

“The sheer duplicity of her conduct is quite extraordinary and should demonstrate to everyone how poorly the allegations against Mr. Weinstein were actually vetted and accordingly cause all of us to pause and allow due process to prevail, not condemnation by fundamental dishonesty,” Brafman concluded. 

Weinstein’s foes were adamant that the allegations against Argento do not undermine allegations against Weinstein or the status of #MeToo movement in general.

“Yes, (statutory rape) is a crime. Yes, it could still be prosecuted,” Allred said. “But if (Bennett) doesn’t file a report or if he doesn’t wish to testify, the reality is it’s unlikely it would be prosecuted. Prosecutors generally will not force a victim who is reluctant or refuses to testify.”

Moreover, Allred says, the encounter between Bennett and Argento has been resolved by a settlement and payout, and “in a way that appears to be to the satisfaction of both parties.” This is routine and there’s nothing wrong with such settlements, Allred said, having negotiated countless such resolutions herself.

“This should not be a black eye for the #MeToo movement,” Allred insisted. “I think the movement will not only continue, I see it getting bigger, not lessening.” 

Similar sentiments came from Tarana Burke, the woman credited with starting the movement back in 2007. She said in a series of tweets Monday that the movement will endure even though it is “jarring” to hear “the names of some of our faves connected to sexual violence.”

She tweeted that the debate should shift from talking about individuals to talking about sexual violence as a consequence of power and privilege.

“People will use these recent news stories to try and discredit this movement – don’t let that happen. This is what Movement is about. It’s not a spectator sport. It is people generated. We get to say “this is/isn’t what this movement is about!” she tweeted.

Lisa Bloom, another California women’s rights attorney and daughter of Allred, says human beings can be both victim and victimizer, “saint and monster,” at the same time. 

“This will have zero impact on #MeToo, which is not about one person or 10 people or even 1,000 people, it’s about millions worldwide who have chosen to tell their stories of sexual harassment and assault and woken up the world to this epidemic,” Bloom told USA TODAY.  “There are always going to be bumps in the road but we can’t lose sight of the power of this movement.”

Actress Rose McGowan, another Weinstein accuser and #MeToo hero, said she was heartbroken by the news and urged people to “be gentle.”

“I got to know Asia Argento ten months ago. Our commonality is the shared pain of being assaulted by Harvey Weinstein. My heart is broken. I will continue my work on behalf of victims everywhere,” she tweeted Monday. .

“None of us know the truth of the situation and I’m sure more will be revealed,” she added in another tweet. “Be gentle.”

Jodi Omear, a spokeswoman for the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), a leading anti-rape advocacy group, said all accusers, or “survivors” as they are called in the movement, should be believed.

“The #MeToo movement has given even more people who have suffered sexual violence the courage to come forward and tell their stories,” Omear said in a statement to USA TODAY. “Sexual assault can happen to anyone at anytime, and we should take all allegations seriously so that people continue to tell their stories and get the justice they deserve.”

On Twitter, supporters of the movement sought to reassure others that #MeToo will not be damaged by this episode.  

“A person’s ability to be both a perpetrator and a victim of crime has never negated an actions’ criminality. This is not new. Asia Argento is selfish for centering herself in a cause to which she presented reputational risk – however unfair – but #metoo has lost no legitimacy,” tweeted a user called feminist next door.

“Asia Argento sexually assaulted a minor. That is reprehensible & unforgivable. Do I think it means she wasn’t assaulted by Weinstein? No. Do I think it means she has been breathtakingly narcissistic and selfish in making herself a face of the #MeToo movement? Absolutely. Shame,” tweeted Australian comedian/actress and writer Rosie Waterland.

But Argento also was subjected to Twitter criticism, some of it unprintable, from people never much impressed by the movement, Argento or McGowan. 

“#Metoo movement will fail if its leaders engage in hypocrisy, cronyism & double standards. Rose McGowan’s advice should apply to all who are accused, not just to her friend #AsiaArgento,” tweeted Christina Hoff Sommers, a conservative self-described feminist and author of the books, “War Against Boys” and “Who Stole Feminism?”

She accused McGowan of advocating a double standard.

“People coming to the defense of Asia Argento & telling us to ‘not jump to conclusions’ weren’t saying this about Harvey Weinstein, Trump, or Kevin Spacey. Does she get the benefit of the doubt Bc she’s a woman? Women can be predators too,” tweeted Elizabeth Koslo. 

 

 

 

 

    

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There is “blood in the water” at Manchester United amid apparent discord behind the scenes, says former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright.

United manager Jose Mourinho said his side made “incredible mistakes” as they lost 3-2 at Brighton on Sunday.

Wright suggested executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward was also unhappy.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 live’s Monday Night Club, Wright said: “Ed Woodward’s unhappy, the manager’s unhappy, the players are unhappy and the fans are.”

Mourinho warned in the summer that his side faced “a difficult season” if they did not strengthen before the transfer window closed.

He had highlighted his team’s defence as an area that needed bolstering, but deadline day passed without any new arrivals.

Former Arsenal striker Wright said he feared for the Old Trafford future of Mourinho, who signed a contract extension in January, committing him to United until 2020.

“Something is going to have to give somewhere along the line,” he added.

“If it carries on like this for Manchester United, I don’t care how much money they are making, they are going to slip way out of it.

“I cannot see any other outcome than unfortunately Jose Mourinho will probably lose his job if it carries on like it is.”

‘There are big splits at Man Utd’

Former Chelsea forward Chris Sutton, speaking on the same programme, said Sunday’s display suggested United’s players “were not playing for their manager”.

“There are big splits. They don’t seem committed to the manager or the cause,” added Sutton.

“They are Manchester United in name only. The worst thing is it didn’t seem like a one-off yesterday, and it could happen time and time again.

“The fans are angry and fed up.”

‘Man Utd should have backed Mourinho’

United were linked with several defenders during the close season, including Leicester’s Harry Maguire, Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld and Bayern Munich’s Jerome Boateng.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, former United defender Gary Neville said the club should have supported Mourinho in the transfer window.

Neville added: “The minute that he [Woodward] gave Jose Mourinho a contract extension – which some would say was unnecessary part way through a season – but believing in a manager, showing the faith, he had to then buy him the centre-backs.

“Irrespective of the manager, Manchester United need new centre-backs.

“My view is that Maguire and Alderweireld would have been good options. If they cost £120m to bring them in, then that’s what you have to do.

“My view would be that he’s got to stay until the very end of that contract and be backed until the end of that contract if you’re going to give a contract extension as the CEO of the club.

“At the moment, there is definitely an angst there between the club and the manager.

“Don’t get me wrong – the club has supported him. But you can’t three quarters build a house – you have to finish the job.

“United need serious football people to guide what they are doing.”

A massive whale had washed up near the seaside town of Duxbury, Massachusetts, Monday morning, setting off an investigation as police asked the public to stay away from the area.

The deceased whale, shown in a photograph published online by the Duxbury Police Department, dwarfed a large pickup parked alongside it on Duxbury Beach.

“Please stay away so Marine Biologists and Duxbury officials tend to the matter,” police said in a series of tweets. Staffers from Boston’s New England Aquarium also arrived on scene, the department added.

Aquarium spokesman Tony LaCasse identified the whale as a fin whale, known also as a finback, estimated to be about 55 feet in length, Boston.com reported.

The whale will be buried on site by Duxbury officials following exams and samples, Lacasse told the site, though the whale showed no immediate signs of trauma and may have died naturally.

Flyover images from CBS Boston showed staffers measuring and photographing the creature. 

The fin whale is “in danger of extinction throughout all or much of its range,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and is listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Finbacks can live up to 90 years, weighing as much as 80 tons and reaching as many as 85 feet in length, the administration said.

Follow Josh Hafner on Twitter: @joshhafner

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England face a huge challenge to save the third Test after a century from India captain Virat Kohli on day three at Trent Bridge.

Kohli’s exemplary 103, added to 72 from Cheteshwar Pujara and Hardik Pandya’s unbeaten 52, allowed the tourists to declare on 352-7, setting England a notional 521 to win.

The home side were given nine overs to bat, Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings battling to the close on 23-0.

That was something of a positive end to a difficult day for England, who dropped each of Kohli and Pujara and lost wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow to a fractured finger.

Bairstow injured the middle finger on his left hand when trying to take a delivery from James Anderson, with Jos Buttler donning the gloves for most of the day.

England say Bairstow is likely to bat in their massive task of making the largest fourth-innings score to win a Test or surviving for two days to save it.

However, the most likely outcome is that England will be bowled out at some point and India will reduce their series deficit to 2-1.

India’s lesson to England

England find themselves in this hopeless position after being rolled over for 161 in their first innings on Sunday.

In losing all 10 wickets in a session, the hosts’ inadequate defensive technique against the moving ball was exposed.

On Monday, they were given a lesson in watchfulness, patience and judgement by an India team that accumulated without fuss on a good pitch, albeit against reduced movement.

It has been a fine improvement by the tourists, who were bowled out for 107 and 130 in the second Test at Lord’s to extend a run that had seen them pass 200 just once in nine innings in England.

Kohli, Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, who took 94 balls over his 29, were all determined, with expansion only coming from Pandya’s run-a-ball hitting as India moved towards a declaration.

Even if they are beaten, England’s shot-makers need to show similar application in the remainder of this match.

Kohli does it again

Although Kohli endured a miserable tour four years ago, averaging only 13.40, he said before this series that he did not feel the need to prove himself in English conditions.

Still, this second, almost inevitable, century took his tally to 440 runs at an average of 73.33 this summer.

From 124-2 overnight, Pujara and Kohli extended their stand to 113.

Pujara – solid in defence – played cuts, wristy flicks and punches down the ground. Kohli, who left the ball with care, drove on both sides of the wicket and cashed in any time leg-spinner Adil Rashid dropped short.

Pujara was denied what seemed a certain century when Ben Stokes found extra bounce to take the edge, while Kohli enjoyed luck in the 90s – he edged James Anderson through Keaton Jennings and, from the next ball, nicked short of first slip.

In the next over, he guided Chris Woakes to third man to complete his 23rd Test ton, celebrating by blowing a kiss towards wife Anushka Sharma.

It was Woakes who had Kohli play around his pad to be lbw, the skipper disappointed not to see a review go his way, but still able to leave to a standing ovation.

England’s tough day

Though the day belonged to India, little blame can be attached to the home bowlers, who performed admirably throughout.

However, England’s catching remains substandard – Buttler was slow to move to his left at second slip when Pujara, on 40, groped at Anderson.

Soon after, Buttler was required to take the gloves when Bairstow was struck on the end of the finger attempting what looked like a regulation take off Anderson.

In obvious pain, he left the field with a cap covering his hand and an X-ray revealed what England described as a “small” fracture.

Later, Anderson should have been rewarded in his duel with Kohli only for Jennings, at fine gully, to not even get a hand on the chance presented.

Jennings and Cook at least came through a difficult spell against the new ball at the end of the day, supported by a crowd that loudly cheered every run.

The left-handed pair faced two overs from off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who appeared to be struggling with the hip injury which restricted his contribution in the first innings.

‘India played proper Test match cricket’

Former England captain Michael Vaughan: “It’s been quite a slow day but India have done exactly what a professional team should have done.

“They knew the only way back for England was to blow them away and they played the old fashioned way, I prefer to call it the proper Test match way.

“I thought they could have pulled out 45 minutes or an hour before they did but they are still massive favourites.”

On the dropped catches: “Today was the first time I have seen Jimmy Anderson drop to his knees with his head in his hands because of the dropped catches.

“It must be very difficult to see outside edges go down when you are creating opportunities and bowling beautifully.

“They do lots of catches in practice but there has got to be something else they can do. Peter Moores made catching competitive in practice, he’d have machines firing at you from close range and it became a competition in the dressing room.”

WASHINGTON – Twenty years ago this month, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh urged fellow investigators in the independent counsel’s office to ask President Bill Clinton extremely graphic questions about his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

The point, Kavanaugh said, was to help Congress “decide whether the interests of the presidency would be best served by having a new president.”

While the general nature of Kavanaugh’s memo was previously reported, the National Archives and Records Administration on Monday released the two-pager following a Freedom of Information Act request from the judicial transparency group Fix the Court.

Kavanaugh wanted colleagues preparing to interview Clinton to ask about such details as oral sex in the Oval Office, vaginal stimulation, masturbation and phone sex, all as a way of determining if the president would deny what Lewinsky had told investigators.

“The president has disgraced his office, the legal system, and the American people by having sex with a 22-year-old intern and turning her life into a shambles – callous and disgusting behavior that has somehow gotten lost in the shuffle,” Kavanaugh wrote.

Kavanaugh saw things differently when it came to issuing independent counsel Ken Starr’s final report, urging that it not be so salacious. And more than a decade later, he wrote that presidents should be spared from responding to civil lawsuits or criminal investigations while in office. 

“A president who is concerned about an ongoing criminal investigation is almost inevitably going to do a worse job as president,” he wrote in the Minnesota Law Review.

More: Abortion, race, gay rights, death penalty: Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh could make the difference

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Facial hair isn’t just about the fuzz on your face. 

At least, not for the hundreds of people who competed in this year’s British Beard and Moustache Championships, which took place in Blackpool, UK on Saturday. For these people, facial hair is a mode of expression. 

The competition – which is open to men, women, and non-binary people with beards — had people celebrating their facial follicles and serving up some of the most extravagant beard lewks you’ve ever seen. 

From the longest hipster-style beards to the most elaborate moustache designs, all beards on the spectrum were represented at the 4th year of the Championships. 

From this octopus-esque style.

Image: PA Images via Getty Images

To this guy taking the handlebar moustache to the next level.

Image: PA Images via Getty Images

We’re here for this look.

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Tormund Giantsbane, is that you?

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Is that… is that the Eiffel Tower?

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This man needs clips to hold up this style, but it’s still pretty amazing. 

Image: Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images

Please, never shave. 

You can find more images and info on the The British Beard and Moustache Championships’ Facebook page.

French energy giant Total confirmed it is withdrawing from a multibillion-dollar gas project in Iran after it failed to obtain a waiver from US sanctions.

Total signed a deal worth $4.8bn in July 2017 to develop a field off Iran’s southern coast as the lead partner alongside the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Iran’s Petropars.

“Total has notified the Iranian authorities of its withdrawal from the contract following the 60-day deadline for obtaining a potential waiver from the US authorities,” the company told AFP news agency on Monday.

“Despite the backing of the French and European authorities, such a waiver could not have been obtained.” 

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said the company had notified authorities of its decision to exit the deal.

“Total has officially left the agreement for the development of phase 11 of South Pars,” Zanganeh said, emphasising the dire state of Iran’s oil-and-gas facilities, which he said were “worn out” and in need of renovation that Iran could not afford.

The deal was meant to bring in state-of-the-art technology to tap the gas field, which Iran could then replicate on surrounding ones.

The United States said in May it was abandoning the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and other nations, and reimposing sanctions on Tehran in two phases in August and November, with the second targeting the country’s vital oil-and-gas sector.

Total has $10bn of capital in US assets, and US banks are involved in 90 percent of its financing operations, meaning it would have been highly vulnerable to US penalties for remaining in Iran.

Technology missing

Zanganeh said the process to find a replacement for Total was under way.

But it is unlikely that CNPC or Iran’s own firms can take over the project, said Homayoun Falakshahi, an energy analyst for Wood Mackenzie in London.

“The technology Total was hoping to implement would have been world-first, using electricity to compress the gas,” he said.

“The other complication is that it needs huge platforms. Iran can build 5,000 to 7,000-tonne platforms. This would have been 20,000 tonnes.”

The urgent need for investment to upgrade Iran’s dilapidated energy infrastructure was a key motivator behind its decision to join the 2015 nuclear deal.

Some conservatives in Iran oppose foreign involvement in the strategic energy sector and have frustrated plans to develop attractive investment contracts.

As a result, the Total deal was the only major investment project finalised after the nuclear deal came into force.