The Starting Point: Cat killings in Florida & credit card fraud

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: Iran's supreme leader reportedly ordered an investigation into allegations of election fraud, The Associated Press reported. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's decision to look into charges by pro-reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi gave hope to the opposition forces who protested the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Click here to view images of the demonstrations.

In other news: Gen. Stanley McChrystal took charge of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan today. According to The AP, McChrystal will command the largest international force ever in Afghanistan, including 56,000 U.S. troops and 32,000 forces from 41 other countries.

Hundreds of fans celebrated the L.A. Lakers' NBA title win on Sunday night, but a few revelers took the celebrations beyond lawful limits. At least one police cruiser was damaged during the post-game partying; several cars were also vandalized and a gas station was looted. Police officers arrested five people after a crowd began throwing rocks and setting bonfires. Click here to view CBS2/KCAL9 video showing the celebrations getting out of hand.

Finally, gas prices have climbed 17 cents a gallon over the past two weeks, The AP reported. The national average for regular gas is now $2.66 a gallon. The most affordable gas was found in Tucson, Ariz., at $2.41 a gallon; the most expensive fuel was sold in San Francisco at $2.99 a gallon.

Most-read stories overnight: Tyler Hayes Weinman was charged on Sunday with 19 counts of animal cruelty and improperly disposing of an animal and four counts of burglary, The AP reported. The Florida teen is suspected in a string of cat mutilations and killings that disturbed residents and animal lovers in two South Florida communities. Several of the attacks occurred on the same street where the teen stayed with his mother.

Readers were also interested in this AP story about credit card fraud. The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse announced that more than 70 retailers and credit card processors were hacked in the past two years, leaving tens of millions of credit and debit card numbers vulnerable to identity thieves. Even the companies that had the payment industry's top rating for computer security fell victim to huge heists. What changes should be made to keep your personal data safe? Click here to share your thoughts.

Looking ahead: President Barack Obama will give a speech today to the American Medical Association about his healthcare reform plan. After the speech, Obama will return to Washington to meet with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Last week's poll: Do you think investigators will ever learn what caused Flight 447 to crash? More than half of respondents said yes; the rest were split on the issue. Theories bounced around in the comments section included turbulence, weather events and terrorism.

Today in history: In 1904, more than 1,000 people died when a fire erupted aboard the General Slocum in New York City's East River.

Birthdays: Actor Denzel Whitaker, 19. Baseball player Tim Lincecum, 25. Football player Derek Anderson, 26. Musician Billy Martin (Good Charlotte), 28. Actor Neil Patrick Harris, 36. Baseball player Andy Pettitte, 37. Actor Jake Busey, 38. Actress Leah Remini, 39. Actor/rapper Ice Cube, 40. Actress Courtney Cox, 45. Actress/director Helen Hunt, 46. Actress Eileen Davidson, 50. Baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs, 51. Actress Julie Hagerty, 54. Actor/comedian Jim Belushi, 55. Singer Steve Walsh (Kansas), 58. Singer Russell Hitchcock (Air Supply), 60. Football coach Mike Holmgren, 61. Baseball Hall of Famer Billy Williams, 71. Former Gov. of New York Mario Cuomo, 77.

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--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.