The specific timing of the move—following the secretary of state’s split from the president to condemn a Russian attack in the U.K.—raises questions about its motive, reports The Atlantic.

• Daily Caller: Meet Gina Haspel, Trump’s Pick To Be The First Female CIA Director
• Free Beacon: Brown Omits $6 Billion Cost Overrun in Bullet-Train Pitch to Trump
• WashExaminer: Florida Law Bans Free Speech Zones, but Will It Be Enforced??
• The Hill: Hensarling Says He’s Not Holding Talks on Senate Banking Bill
• Townhall: WH Fires Aide Who Contradicted Trump’s Account of Tillerson Dismissal

With 48 hours to go before the polls close in Pennsylvania’s 18th District and voters decide the nail-biter special election, some insiders see a draw, reports John Gizzi of Newsmax.

• TownHall: GOP Senator: It Looks Like We’ll Have a SCOTUS Vacancy This Year
• Free Beacon: After Tariffs, Trump to Punish China for Intellectual Property Theft
• The Hill: Pruitt May Limit Ethanol Market Traders
• Daily Caller: Obama Alum, Grandson Of A Munich Terrorist Is Running For Congress
• WashExaminer: Harvard to Host Panel With Parkland Students Calling for More Gun Control

North Korea has “agreed to denuclearize” as a condition for meeting with President Donald Trump — and “we won’t have a meeting until we see concrete actions that match the words and rhetoric” of dictator Kim Jong Un, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday, reports Newsmax.

• Politico: Mueller Tight-Lipped as Media Leaks Shape Russia Narrative
• Guardian: Trump Official Under Fire After Granting Broad Access to Mining and Oil Firms
• WashExaminer: Lisa Murkowski Says Trump’s Steel Tariffs Could Jack Up Cost of Alaska Natural Gas Project
• DailyCaller: REPORT: Susan Rice Told NSC Officials To ‘Stand Down’ In Response To Russian Meddling Attempts
• WashExaminer: White House: Trump Is ‘Getting Exactly What He Wants’ With Kim Meeting