What Wolf's reading: Monday, June 27, 2011

Each day, Wolf Blitzer scours several news sources to stay on top of the day's most important stories. Below are some of his top recommended reads for today. Tune in from 5- 7 PM on CNN for the latest on these stories and more.

CNN: Obama intervenes in deficit talks as positions stiffen
President Barack Obama will meet with Senate Democratic and Republican leaders on Monday to keep the negotiations going on a possible deficit reduction deal. The session comes after talks led by Vice President Joe Biden concluded last week without an agreement and as congressional leaders hardened their positions, making a possible compromise more difficult.

CNN Opinion: McConnell: Cut spending, don't add more stimulus
Later today, I will sit down with President Barack Obama to discuss his request to increase the nation's debt ceiling, and I will make a request of my own: What, Mr. President, are you prepared to do about the massive deficits and debt that have grown dramatically on your watch? What Republicans want is simple: We want to cut spending now, we want to cap runaway spending in the future and we want to save our entitlements and our country from bankruptcy by requiring the nation to balance its budget. We want to finally get our economy growing again at a pace that will lead to significant job growth.

CNN: Bachmann well-positioned for Iowa, and maybe beyond
Forget political pedigree, executive experience or ties to deep-pocketed donors. No Republican presidential candidate is better positioned to capitalize on the recent tide of conservative anger toward President Barack Obama than Michele Bachmann. Her charisma and crossover appeal to both social and fiscal conservatives have the three-term Minnesota congresswoman rising in the polls and primed to make a serious impact on the GOP nomination fight.

Wall Street Journal: Overlapping Health Plans Are Double Trouble for Taxpayers (WSJ subscription required)
As the U.S. wrestles with rising health expenses, one group of patients stands out for government-paid care that is both ultra-costly and plagued with problems.
They are the people who receive both Medicare, the program for those 65 and older or disabled, and Medicaid, the one for the poor. Statistics on these 9.7 million "dual eligibles" are stark. They account for 16% of Medicare's enrollees, but 27% of its spending. And they make up 15% of Medicaid's enrollment, but 39% of Medicaid spending, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Wall Street Journal: Iran Woos U.S. Allies as Troops Withdraw
(WSJ subscription required)
Iran is moving to cement ties with the leaders of three key American allies-Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq-highlighting Tehran's efforts to take a greater role in the region as the U.S. military pulls out troops. The Afghan and Pakistani presidents, visiting Tehran, discussed with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "many issues…that might come up after the NATO military force goes out of Afghanistan," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said in an interview here Sunday.

CNN: California ban on sale of 'violent' video games to children rejected
The Supreme Court has struck down a California law that would have banned selling "violent" video games to children, a case balancing free speech rights with consumer protection. The 7-2 ruling Monday is a victory for video game makers and sellers, who said the ban - which had yet to go into effect - would extend too far. They say the existing nationwide, industry-imposed, voluntary rating system is an adequate screen for parents to judge the appropriateness of computer game content.

CNN: North Dakota flood fight far from over
Minot and other North Dakota cities dealing with record flooding will continue to be threatened by the Souris River for days to come, even though the water is no longer rising along parts of the river, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commander said Monday. Although the river crested in Minot early Sunday morning, it has only dropped a fraction of an inch since - leaving crews with the tense, around-the-clock job of constantly inspecting and shoring up emergency levees built to protect critical structures, said Lt. Col. Kendall Bergmann, deputy district engineer for the Corps' St. Paul District.

New York Times: Beyond New York, Gay Marriage Faces Hurdles
After a string of defeats in recent years from California to Maine, the movement to legalize same-sex marriage is hoping its unexpected victory in New York will revive efforts to legalize gay weddings around the nation. But the movement’s success here could prove difficult to replicate. Twenty-nine states have constitutional bans on same-sex marriage, while 12 others have laws against it. And many of those states where support for same-sex marriage is high have already acted on the issue.

CNN Money: Citi: Millions stolen in May hack attack
Citigroup acknowledged that a hack attack last month stole millions of dollars from customers' credit card accounts.
Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) told CNN that about $2.7 million was stolen from about 3,400 accounts on May 10.
The hackers actually accessed a much larger number of accounts: 360,083. Fewer than 1% of the hacked accounts had money removed from them, according to Citigroup.

Bloomberg: Consumer Spending in U.S. Probably Increased at Slowest Pace in 11 Months
U.S. consumer spending probably rose in May at the slowest pace in almost a year, reflecting fewer new-car purchases and dimmer employment prospects, economists said before a report today. The projected 0.1 percent gain would be the smallest since June 2010 and follow a 0.4 percent rise the prior month, according to the median estimate of 63 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.