Friday's Headlines: Within Trump’s inner circle, a moderate voice captures the president’s ear

North Korea accuses Trump of 'making provocations' with 'aggressive' tweets; Trump signs bill allowing states to strip federal family-planning funds from abortion providers; Big Sur usually can't keep people away. Right now, it's practically deserted.; Massive U.S. bomb killed 36 from Islamic State, Afghan officials say;   Democracy Dies in Darkness     The morning's most important stories, selected by Post editors   Top Stories Within Trump's inner circle, a moderate voice captures the president's ear Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council and former president of Goldman Sachs, raises his profile by strengthening his reputation as a dealmaker. By Damian Paletta  •  Read more » North Korea accuses Trump of 'making provocations' with 'aggressive' tweets The country's vice foreign minister said that President Trump was "becoming more vicious and more aggressive" than previous presidents, which was only making matters worse as tensions between the U.S. and North Korea escalate. By Anna Fifield  •  Read more »   Trump signs bill allowing states to strip federal family-planning funds from abortion providers Abortion-rights advocates said the rule would deny as many as 4 million Americans access to birth control and other family-planning services. By Juliet Eilperin  •  Read more »   Big Sur usually can't keep people away. Right now, it's practically deserted. Heavy rains in California cut off part of the main highway, bringing sudden isolation, frustration and bliss to residents of the scenic stretch of coast. By Sara Solovitch  •  Read more »   Massive U.S. bomb killed 36 from Islamic State, Afghan officials say Questions remain on why the U.S. chose to deploy one of its most powerful bombs — the military's largest non-nuclear device ever used in combat — for the strike. By Erin Cunningham and Sayed Salahuddin  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Opinions   We don't know where Trump stands. Neither does he. By Eugene Robinson  •  Read more »   The Great Reversal — for now By Charles Krauthammer  •  Read more »   Trump gets a taste of success By David Ignatius  •  Read more »   Liberals have to avoid Trump Derangement Syndrome By Fareed Zakaria  •  Read more »   Why should college students let their enemies speak? Naked self-interest. By Catherine Rampell  •  Read more »   Trump's recent flip-flops are something to (cautiously) celebrate By Editorial Board  •  Read more » ADVERTISEMENT   More News   EPA halts Obama-era rule aimed at curbing toxic wastewater from coal plants The regulation went into effect in 2015, but the energy industry has appealed to the Trump administration to revisit it. By Brady Dennis  •  Read more » United passenger: Dragging incident more horrifying than fleeing Vietnam David Dao will need reconstructive surgery after suffering a serious concussion, broken nose, two missing teeth and other injuries when he was dragged off a United flight at O'Hare International Airport on Sunday, his lawyer said. By Lori Aratani  •  Read more » Analysis Turkey's referendum Sunday is the ultimate vote on Erdogan President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hopes voters will approve his plan to transform Turkey from a parliamentary democracy into a republic led by an immensely powerful president — which his opponents fear will be a de facto dictatorship. By Ishaan Tharoor  •  Read more » Georgia county fires officer captured on video kicking handcuffed man in the head Robert McDonald — who was responding to a call to assist another officer in a struggle — "just got tunnel vision," Gwinnett County Police Chief Butch Ayers said Thursday. By Peter Holley and Lindsey Bever  •  Read more » 'Can He Do That?' When it comes to acts of war, how far can Trump go? With military action, when can a president bypass Congress, and what are the consequences if he does? National security reporter Dan Lamothe, American University's Nora Bensahel and former adviser to Susan Rice, Loren Schulman, help us answer that question. Read more » Where do your NEA dollars go? What we learned on an Indiana road trip. Blasted as "welfare for elites" and targeted for cuts, arts funding has infiltrated surprising corners of the heartland. By Geoff Edgers  •  Read more » Perspective Mary Magdalene has spent two millennia maligned as a prostitute. It's time for that myth to end. In some ways, Mary Magdalene's story is that of modern women everywhere who dare to work among men as equals and are then sexualized and marginalized. Now there's a social media campaign to end the shaming. By Petula Dvorak  •  Read more » 'Ready to pay': Marine taken away in shackles after pleading guilty to lying in sexual misconduct case Maj. Mark Thompson falsely claimed for years that he did not have sex with two students at the Naval Academy. "I should have faced the entire truth," he said Thursday. "I'm exhausted, broken in spirit and ready to pay what I owe." By Ann E. Marimow and John Woodrow Cox  •  Read more » U.S.-led coalition accidentally bombs Syrian allies, killing 18 The airstrike earlier this week marks the worst confirmed friendly-fire incident in the nearly three-year-old war against the terrorist group. The coalition said in a statement that the strike was requested by "partnered forces" near the town of Tabqa who accidentally targeted a group of Kurdish and Arab fighters. By Thomas Gibbons-Neff  •  Read more »         Share Today's Headlines:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you are signed up for Headlines. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2017 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071