The Starting Point: Madoff's punishment and the generation gap

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 has started recounting a random 10 percent of ballots in the disputed presidential election, The Associated Press reported. The Guardian Council, Iran's top electoral oversight body, said it planned to complete the partial recount by the end of the day. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also asked Iran's cleric-controlled judiciary to investigate the killing of Neda Agha Soltan, the young woman who became an icon of Iran's opposition movement after a viral video showing her death on a Tehran street was circulated worldwide.

In other news: Iraqi security forces bolstered checkpoints and banned all motorcycles from the streets of Baghdad in preparation for the withdrawal of U.S. troops on Tuesday. According to The AP, these efforts failed to stop two bombings, which killed one police officer and wounded 12 people.

In the wake of a nearly bloodless coup, Honduras started the week with two presidents: one democratically elected leader who was legally recognized by world bodies, and one supported by the Central American nation's congress, courts and military. President Manuel Zelaya was seized by soldiers on Sunday and forced onto a plane bound for Costa Rica in what was the first military overthrow of a Central American government in 16 years. Two senior Obama administration officials said U.S. diplomats were working to ensure Zelaya's safe return to Honduras, The AP reported. Roberto Micheletti, Zelaya's congressionally designated successor, rejected any outside interference and instituted a two-night curfew.

Finally, Twitpic accounts owned by Britney Spears and Ellen DeGeneres were hacked over the weekend, The AP reported. The hackers then broadcast bogus information about the celebrities. The Twitpic service, which allows Twitter users to share photographs, briefly shut down after the infiltration was discovered on Sunday, and urged readers to disregard the hoax messages.

Most-read stories overnight: A new study by the Pew Research Center found Americans of different age groups were increasingly at odds over a wide range of issues. The generation gap was particularly wide in areas of religion, work ethic, technological savvy and social matters such as gay marriage and interracial relationships.

Readers were also interested in this AP story about a murder-suicide in Virginia. Police say William Ronald Carter shot his wife, Bonnie, 56, their son William Ronald Carter Jr., 29, and their son Timothy Carter, 22, before taking his own life. Unlike the rest of his family, Timothy survived the attack and alerted the authorities. Three bodies were later found in the basement of the home.

Looking ahead: President Barack Obama will meet with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe today. The White House will then host a reception to commemorate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month. Also, Justice David Souter will rule on a reverse discrimination case today, his last on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Today's poll: Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff will be sentenced in federal court this morning. What punishment should he receive for running a multibillion dollar Ponzi scheme that wiped out fortunes, drained retirement nest eggs, ruined charities and foundations and pushed some investors to commit suicide? Click here to share your thoughts.

Last week's poll: South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford admitted last week to being unfaithful to his wife. Should he resign from office? Seventy-five percent of respondents said yes.

Today in history: In 1959, the Supreme Court unanimously struck down a New York State obscenity ban on exhibiting a French movie version of the D.H. Lawrence novel "Lady Chatterley's Lover."

Birthdays: Singer Nicole Scherzinger, 31. DJ Shadow, 37. Actress Melora Hardin, 42. Actress Kathleen Wilhoite, 45. Actress Sharon Lawrence, 48. Actress Maria Conchita Alonso, 52. Singer Colin Hay (Men at Work), 56. Singer Don Dokken (Dokken), 56. Football Hall of Famer Dan Dierdorf, 60. Actor/former congressman Fred Grandy, 61. Comedian Richard Lewis, 62. Actor Gary Busey, 65. Baseball Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew, 73. Producer Robert Evans, 79.

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.