Firstpost Editor's Picks: UP journo booked, stock markets tank, US Open; today's must-read stories

**Narendra Modi govt playing cards well on Kashmir, but litmus test will come when restrictions are relaxed** Narendra Modi’s decision to relax norms, set Kashmiri politicians free, remove the communication blackout, reduce security and relax all curbs on civil liberties will depend on how well he understands the key question: in the battle between desire for normality, getting access to public goods/services and the search for Islamic identity, which side will ordinary Kashmiris choose? Modi’s bet so far has been on the assumption that ultimately, desire for normalcy trumps every other consideration, and if the Indian State may create an atmosphere where aspirations may be met and grievances addressed, then the desire for an Islamic identity above all may diminish. FIR against UP journalist Pawan Kumar Jaiswal for exposing irregularities in mid-day meal blot on Indian democracy This is not just a case of shooting the messenger who brings bad tidings. It is a case of falsely implicating a journalist who was reporting a story on serious charges with the aim of covering up corruption at the level of the school (as the district magistrate had said himself) and, at least, at the block level, as Jaiswal claims the school staff had told him. This is a clear case of trying to intimidate a journalist and erode the foundations of a free press to protect the corrupt. Unfortunately, attempts to intimidate the media and prevent them from fulfilling their function – keeping the public informed about all manner of things – has become increasingly common over the past few years. **Sensex tanks 770 points, Nifty below 11,000-mark amid deepening economic crisis; ICICI Bank, Tata Steel among top losers** The BSE benchmark Sensex crashed nearly 770 points and the NSE Nifty tumbled over 225 points on Tuesday due to panic sell-offs across the board as investors fretted over the deepening economic crisis and ever-lasting global trade tussle. Only two IT stocks — TechM, HCL Tech — ended with mild gains, tracking weaker rupee, which plunged 90 paise (intra-day) to trade at 72.27 per US dollar. All sectoral indices ended in the red, with BSE metal, energy, consumer durables, telecom, bankex, finance, oil and gas, realty and capital goods indices settled 3.23 percent lower. **US Open 2019: Waltzing Roger Federer swats everyone aside but can Baby Fed hold tight in tornado?** Roger Federer schmoozes on the baseline, scorching winners, unperturbed by errors, waltzing to the net to vulture over opportunities to finish off points. David Goffin, for instance, watched helplessly as Federer won 19 of 23 points at the net, a dizzying 83 percent success rate. In contrast, when the nearly decade younger Belgian employed the same tactic, he would win a mere 4 of 11 points, a dismal 36 percent success rate. In the end, it was familiar territory, the ninth time in ten matches that Goffin had fallen to the mighty Swiss, a ‘rivalry’ that dates back to 2012. Right, so now that the dazzle quotient has been ratcheted up to full bloom, potentially three more virtuoso performances lie ahead. The first of those, scheduled early on Wednesday morning here in India, is against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who has earned the moniker ‘Baby Fed’ for a style of play modelled on Federer’s. **_Once Upon A Time In Hollywood_: Analysing the costume design and use of colour in Tarantino's film** Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is set at a time when America was at the cusp of a cultural change — politically and socially — and the fashion trends of that era are perfectly captured in the film. It made people question their roots and who they really were as people. So, while Cliff Booth embodied the ideal American man that is manly, effortless and everything cool - basically someone Rick Dalton played on-screen for decades, Rick captured the essence of being your own person by daring to change.