The Starting Point: North Korean rhetoric & unsanitary sanitizers

The Starting Point is a snapshot of the news stories that occurred overnight. Look for updates throughout the day on Yahoo! News and in the news box on Yahoo.com.

Top story overnight: A Guantanamo Bay detainee was flown to the United States early this morning, The Associated Press reported. Ahmed Ghailani arrived in New York, where he will stand trial for his alleged role in the bombing of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya and the deaths of 224 people. "The Justice Department has a long history of securely detaining and successfully prosecuting terror suspects through the criminal justice system, and we will bring that experience to bear in seeking justice in this case," Attorney General Eric Holder stated. Would you be willing to sit on a jury impaneled to hear a case involving a Gitmo detainee? Click here to share your thoughts.

In other news: North Korea stepped up its rhetoric today, saying it would use nuclear weapons in a "merciless offensive" if provoked, The AP reported. The tough talk came as South Korea and the U.S. urged the United Nations Security Council to punish North Korea for the nuclear test it conducted on May 25 and subsequent missile tests. Amid the global power struggle, the relatives of two American journalists convicted of illegally entering North Korea urged that government to show some mercy. "We ask the government of North Korea to show compassion and grant Laura [Ling] and Euna [Lee] clemency and allow them to return home to their families," relatives said in a statement. The two Current TV reporters were sentenced yesterday to 12 years of hard labor for their "grave crimes."

An explosion near a U.S. troop convoy in eastern Afghanistan killed at least one child and wounded scores of civilians, Reuters reported. At the time of this writing, the cause of the blast is still under investigation.

Finally, the U.S. military freed an Iraqi Shiite militant accused of killing five American soldiers in 2007. According to The AP, Laith al-Khazali was released Sunday as part of national reconciliation efforts between the Iraqi government and groups that renounce violence.

Most-read stories overnight: The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to consumers about Clarcon skin products. According to The AP, a recent inspection found high levels of disease-causing bacteria in several samples of over-the-counter topical antimicrobial skin sanitizer and skin protectant products. As part of a voluntary recall, Clarcon is urging consumers to throw away Citrushield Lotion, Dermasentials DermaBarrier, Dermassentials by Clarcon, Antimicrobial Hand Sanitizer, Iron Fist Barrier Hand Treatment, Skin Shield Restaurant, Skin Shield Industrial, Skin Shield Beauty Salon Lotion, Total Skin Care Beauty and Total Skin Care Work.

Readers also clicked on this Reuters story about Barry Bonds. The wife of the former San Francisco Giants slugger filed for a legal separation last week, citing "irreconcilable differences." The couple was married for 11 years and has one daughter.

Looking ahead: The NTSB will begin a three-day hearing to discuss the forced landing of an airliner into the Hudson River. And the corruption trial of former Congressman William Jefferson will start today.

Yesterday's poll: Should the U.S. government send Al Gore or New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to Pyongyang to negotiate for the American journalists' release? Sixty-one percent of respondents said yes, 32 percent chose no and 7 percent said maybe. One reader, identified as Cindylou352, wrote: "I think the US government should do what ever they can to obtain the release of these journalists. Lie if you must, but get them out!" On the other hand, Jason Brewster wrote: "I believe they broke the law in another country. They did the crime they should do the time."

Today in history: In 1973, Secretariat became horse racing's first Triple Crown winner in 25 years by winning the Belmont Stakes.

Birthdays: Actress Natalie Portman, 28. Actress Michaela Conlin, 31. Actress Gloria Reuben, 45. Actor Johnny Depp, 46. Writer/producer Aaron Sorkin, 48. Actor Michael J. Fox, 48. Author Patricia Cornwell, 53. Sportscaster Dick Vitale, 70. Broadcast journalist Marvin Kalb, 79. Former World Bank president and former defense secretary Robert S. McNamara, 93. Guitarist Les Paul, 94.

Note: The Starting Point Twitter feed is available @ystartingpoint. Sign up today!

--Jade Walker is the overnight editor of Yahoo! News. News doesn't stop when the lights go out, and neither does Jade.

**Yahoo! News bloggers compile the best news content from our providers and scour the Web for the most interesting news stories so you don't have to.