The Starting Point: Stormy weather and sexual scandals
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: Clashes between Islamic insurgents and Somali forces left 17 dead in Mogadishu, The Associated Press reported. The fighting raised Wednesday's death toll to 34, making it the worst single day of fighting in the Somali capital since mid-May. A few hours later, an explosion in western Somalia killed at least 20 people, including the country's national security minister.
In other news: Suspected U.S. missile strikes pounded the hide-outs of a Taliban commander in northwest Pakistan today. According to The AP, the assault killed at least eight people; two dozen others were also injured.
Storms in the Midwest flooded streets and knocked out power to thousands of homes and businesses, The AP reported. In the past 24 hours, the town of Abercrombie, N.D., has experienced nearly 8 inches of rain.
Finally, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fractured her right elbow yesterday. Clinton was on her way to the White House when she took a serious tumble. Although she plans to resume her full schedule soon, Clinton will have to undergo surgery in the coming week.
Most-read stories overnight: A 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old boyfriend were arrested yesterday as suspects in the murder of the girl's mother, The AP reported. Joanne Witt, 47, was found stabbed to death in her El Dorado Hills home after she failed to show up to work for several days. Although police took Tylar Witt and Steven Colver into custody, no formal charges have been filed yet. Last month, Tylar was booked into juvenile hall for allegedly assaulting her mother.
Readers were also interested in this AP story about Ryan Leaf. The former NFL quarterback was arrested by customs agents at the U.S.-Canada border and charged with burglary and eight drug charges. During his professional football career, Leaf played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers. He also coached for three seasons at West Texas A&M.
Looking ahead: Supporters of Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi plan to take to the streets of Tehran today. The latest protest is meant to mourn the seven demonstrators killed earlier this week by pro-regime militia. Coverage of the rally will be limited as the Iranian government has banned all foreign media reporting and muzzled citizen Websites and social networks.
Today's poll: Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) recently admitted to cheating on his wife with one of his aides. This is only the latest in a series of sex scandals involving politicians on both sides of the aisle. Do the sexual escapades of public officials affect how you vote? Click here to share your thoughts.
Yesterday's poll: Do you believe the Obama administration should repeal the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy, and allow gays to serve in the military? Sixty percent of respondents said no and 39 percent said yes.
Today in history: In 1948, Columbia Records unveiled its new long-playing 33 1/3 rpm phonograph record.
Birthdays: Actress Alana de la Garza, 33. Singer Nathan Morris (Boyz II Men), 38. Football Hall of Famer Bruce Smith, 46. Actress Isabella Rossellini, 57. Actress Carol Kane, 57. Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), 59. Singer Paul McCartney, 67. Movie critic Roger Ebert, 67. Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Brock, 70. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), 72.
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.