The Note's Must-Reads for Thursday, August 8, 2013 POTUS AND VLADIMIR PUTIN: The Wall Street Journal's Carol Lee and Alan Cullison: "Diplomatic Rift With Putin Grows As Obama Cancels" President Barack Obama's decision to pull out of a one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next month punctuates a steady decline in relations and represents an unusually sharp rebuke for an administration pledged to engaging adversaries. Mr. Obama had planned to meet in early September with Mr. Putin before going to a Group of 20 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. The White House said Wednesday he will still attend the G-20. The Hill's Jeremy Herb: "Obama's canceling of Putin meeting draws bipartisan praise" Lawmakers rallied around President Obama after he canceled a bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday as U.S.-Russian relations appeared headed toward a deep chill. Both Republicans and Democrats praised Obama for snubbing Putin and opting not to travel to Moscow for the bilateral summit ahead of the September G-20 meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, which he will still attend. The New York Times" Peter Baker and Steven Lee Myers: "Ties Fraying, Obama Drops Putin Meeting" President Obama on Wednesday canceled next month's Moscow summit meeting, ending for now his signature effort to transform Russian-American relations and potentially dooming his aspirations for further nuclear arms cuts before leaving office. Four years after declaring a new era between the two former cold war adversaries and after some early successes in forging fresh cooperation, Mr. Obama concluded that the two sides had grown so far apart again that there was no longer any point in sitting down with President Vladimir V. Putin. It was the first time an American leader had called off such a trip in decades. Bloomberg's Roger Runningen and Margaret Talev: "Obama Cancels Moscow Putin Summit After Snowden's Asylum" President Barack Obama canceled next month's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow after Russia's refusal to turn over fugitive Edward Snowden, exposing one of the biggest rifts between the two military powers since the end of the Cold War. White House press secretary Jay Carney said the cancellation was prompted by differences with the Russian government over missile defense, trade, human rights and approaches to Iran and Syria over the last year, as well as the standoff over Snowden. IMMIGRATION: ABC News" Michael Falcone: "Mark Zuckerberg's Immigration Reform Group Launches August Recess Ad Offensive" Two days after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg offered his first public comments about immigration reform since launching a political action committee devoted to the issue in April, the group, FWD.us, is taking to the television airwaves with a six-figure ad buy aimed at persuading on-the-fence members of Congress to back reform, ABC News has learned. The Washington Times" Stephen Dinan: "Wolf at the door; pack of activists outside: Immigrant rights issue follows lawmakers home" Five dozen immigration rights activists picketed outside Rep. Frank R. Wolf's Herndon office Wednesday, demanding he vote for a bill that would extend citizenship rights to 11 million illegal immigrants - a scene that is being repeated outside countless Republican congressional district offices this summer. With chances for a bill seemingly slipping in Washington, the activists have vowed to take their fight to lawmakers at home during the congressional recess. PENTAGON: The Los Angeles Times" David Cloud: "Pentagon workers" furloughs shortened to 6 days" The Pentagon will furlough 650,000 civilian employees without pay for six days this year after months of warnings that mandatory budget cuts might idle defense workers for far longer, officials said Tuesday. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who has vowed to help furloughed defense workers since he took over the Pentagon in February, said fewer furlough days became possible after officials found savings elsewhere in the military budget. OTHER: The New York Daily News" Erin Durkin: "Anthony Weiner Claims He, Not Bill Thompon, Fought Mayor Bloomberg On Term Limits" Anthony Weiner dropped his planned mayoral bid when Mayor Bloomberg secured the chance to run for a third term in 2009, but he said Wednesday night that he - not Bill Thompson, who ran against Bloomberg - was the real fighter against overturning term limits."Mr. Thompson is a decent, good man. I like him. I like hanging out with him on the campaign trail - I'm W, he's T, we're always sitting next to each other like peas in a pod," he said at a Queens candidates forum where he and Thompson were the only candidates left, after ranting against city newspapers and pols for supporting the term limits extension. Politico's Josh Gerstein: "James Risen seeks Eric Holder meeting on subpoena" Lawyers for New York Times reporter James Risen have asked to meet Attorney General Eric Holder to argue that continuing to press for Risen's testimony in a leak case would run afoul of the Justice Department's recently revised guidelines for investigations involving the news media. In a July 25 letter to Holder, Risen's legal team contended it would be "utterly inconsistent with the guidelines" for federal prosecutors to keep up their campaign to force Risen to testify about his sources for a 2006 book that discussed a CIA effort to trip up Iran's nuclear program more than a decade ago. ABC NEWS VIDEO: "Obama Addresses The Troops At Camp Pendleton" LINK "President Obama Cancels Moscow Summit With Putin" LINK "Obama Tensions With Putin In Spotlight After Canceled Trip" LINK "Digital Report: President Obama Cancels Trip To Moscow" LINK