5 Things to Know This Morning

5 Things to Know This Morning

ByABC News
June 18, 2013, 12:54 AM

June 18, 2013— -- Your look at the five biggest and most buzz-worthy stories of the morning.

1. Obama, Putin Call for End to Violence in Syria
Emerging from a two-hour meeting at the G8 summit, President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed that the bloodshed in Syria must stop and that there should be a renewed push for negotiations.

2. NSA Leaker Edward Snowden Blames Obama
NSA leaker Edward Snowden reportedly wrote a series of blog posts in which he explained why he leaked classified information about U.S. surveillance programs, claiming President Obama worsened "abusive" practices instead curbing them.

3. 7-Eleven Stores Operated 'Modern Day Plantation System,' Feds Claim
The owners of 7-Eleven franchises in New York and Virginia created a "modern day plantation system" in which undocumented workers were furnished with stolen identities and forced to work 100 hours a week for a fraction of their wages, according to federal authorities.

4. Hitman Testifies Against Bulger
Confessed hitman John Martorano, who has admitted killing 20 people, told a Boston court that he was testifying against his alleged former mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger because "it broke my heart" to discover Bulger was an FBI informant.

5. Dictionary Acknowledges 'Tweet'
The word "tweet," in relation to social media platform Twitter, has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary and is defined as to "make a posting on the social networking service Twitter. Also: to use Twitter regularly or habitually."