Good Wednesday morning. I'm Jake Sherman and welcome to your Politico Playbook Audio Briefing,

sponsored by ExxonMobil. And I'm Anna Palmer. On the investigations front, the New York Times has a big

scoop this morning that President Trump asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions to remain in charge of the

Russia inquiry after his recusal. The Times reports that a confrontation between Trump and sessions back

in 2017 is being investigated by Robert Mueller, as are the president's personal and private

attacks on sessions. Meanwhile, Trey Gowdy said on Fox News that the FBI was right to deploy

an informant to gather information from advisors to President Trump's

2016 campaign.

More immigration news.

The Washington Post is reporting that Trump's zero-tolerance policy at the border has

caused the number of children in custody of the U.S. government to surge by 21% in the last

month.

The AP is reporting that the U.S. is going to limit some Chinese visas,

including those for Chinese grad students who study in fields like robotics and high-tech

manufacturing. This news puts Wilbur Ross's trip to Beijing in jeopardy. Politica was reporting

that Trump is planning to return to the strategy of GOP outrage for the 2018 midterms as a way

to juice up GOP energy. While the New York Times is reporting

that Trump plans to focus his campaigning in red states and minimize his time in competitive

congressional races where he could have a negative impact. The Tennessean reports that Trump called

Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen a total tool for Democrats during his rally for

Marsha Blackburn. NBC is reporting that a new U.S. intelligence report found that North Korea will

not denuclearize but might open a burger franchise as a sign of goodwill. Well, that's something.

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