The Starting Point: Political infidelity & a scary welcome to NYC

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: Even as Iran's reformist opposition leaders vowed to go on challenging the disputed presidential elections, Mir Hossein Mousavi announced on his Website that he had been pressured to drop his challenge. Mousavi also claimed that 70 university professors were detained after meeting with him. This morning, Iranian President Mohmoud Ahmadinejad accused President Barack Obama of behaving like former President George W. Bush, and demanded an apology for what he called U.S. interference after the elections.

In other news: The body of Air France Flight 447's chief pilot was retrieved from the Atlantic Ocean, The Associated Press reported. Search teams also located the body of a flight attendant. The airline did not release their names or nationalities.

An off-duty Anaheim police officer shot two men who allegedly assaulted him in the parking lot of Angel Stadium after the Rockies-Angels game last night. According to The AP, the officer was walking to his car with his wife and two small children when he was hit in the head with a bottle or club. Authorities said the unnamed officer then shot and wounded the men.

Finally, the Cleveland Cavaliers have reportedly reached an agreement to acquire Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O’Neal, several sources told Yahoo! Sports. The Cavs will send Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, the 46th draft pick and cash to the Suns for O'Neal.

Most-read stories overnight: Al-Qaida's North African branch reportedly claimed responsibility for the slaying of an American aid worker, The AP reported. Al-Jazeera TV received an audio statement from al-Qaida of the Islamic Maghreb in which the group alleged Christopher Ervin Leggett, 39, was murdered on Tuesday for trying to convert Muslims to Christianity. Leggett, who grew up in Tennessee, taught at a center specializing in computer science and languages in the capital city of Nousakchott.

Readers were also interested in this AP story about a scary arrival in New York City. Five French tourists who were looking for a ride from John F. Kennedy International Airport reportedly got into a van that wasn't licensed to provide taxi service. Plainclothes police recognized the man who enticed the tourists into his vehicle as someone who had repeatedly been arrested for such scams, and tried to detain him. Unwilling to be taken into custody, he and the driver got into the vehicle and fled the scene -- with the French tourists in the back of the van. Port Authority police sped after the van, trailing it for seven miles, until the vehicle crashed through the gate of a U.S. Postal Service facility in Brooklyn. Police ran after the suspects, who tried to escape on foot, and eventually arrested them. Click here to view the tourists' response to the experience.

Looking ahead: President Barack Obama will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week. The two leaders are expected to discuss the global financial crisis and Germany's role in the Afghan war. Obama will also join the first lady at Fort McNail to promote the United We Serve program. Finally 5 of the 6 black teens accused of beating a white high school classmate in 2006 will plead guilty in a deal expected to be finalized this week. The students were initially charged with attempted murder, and became known as the "Jena Six" after the town where the beating took place.

Today's poll: South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who once cited "moral legitimacy" when he was a congressman voting for President Bill Clinton's impeachment, admitted yesterday to being unfaithful to his wife. Should he resign from office? Click here to vote.

Yesterday's poll: Do you believe there are alien civilizations living on other planets? Eighty-two percent of respondents said yes.

Today in history: In 1950, war broke out in Korea as forces from the communist North invaded the South.

Birthdays: Actress Busy Philipps, 30. Actress Linda Cardellini, 34. Musician Mike Kroeger (Nickelback), 37. Actress Angela Kinsey, 38. Musician Sean Kelly (Six Pence None the Richer), 38. Rapper Candyman, 41. Basketball player Dikembe Mutombo, 43. Singer George Michael, 46. Actor/comedian Ricky Gervais, 48. Musician David Paich (Toto), 55. Singer Tim Finn (Crowded House), 57. TV personality Phyllis George, 60. Actor/director Michael Lembeck, 61. Actor/comedian Jimmie Walker, 62. Musician Ian McDonald (King Crimson), 63. Musician Allen Lanier (Blue Oyster Cult), 63. Singer Carly Simon, 64. Writer/producer Gary David Goldberg, 65. Basketball Hall of Famer Willis Reed, 67. Actress Barbara Montgomery, 70. Actress June Lockhart, 84. Director Sidney Lumet, 85.

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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.