The Starting Point: Iraqis celebrate and a cold case is reopened

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 Yemen Airlines passenger jet crashed into the Indian Ocean early this morning while trying to land in bad weather. According to The Associated Press, the fate of all 142 passengers and 11 crew members is still unknown; however, search teams did rescue one toddler from the sea. The A310-300 went into service in 1990, and had accumulated 51,900 flight hours. Two years ago, French aviation inspectors who examined the plane found a "number of faults." For a look at some of the world's deadliest air disasters, click here.

In other news: U.S. troops withdrew from Iraqi cities and turned over security responsibilities to Iraqi forces, The AP reported. The U.S. pullout was cheered on the ground with parades and fireworks. The Iraqi government also named June 30 National Sovereignty Day. Prior to the withdrawal's completion, four U.S. soldiers were killed while serving with the Multi-National Division-Baghdad. The U.S. military did not offer further details, but said the troops died as a "result of combat related injuries."

A freight train hauling liquefied petroleum gas derailed and exploded in Italy today, Reuters reported. At the time of this writing, at least 12 people were killed and 50 others wounded. About 1,000 people were evacuated from their homes following the blast in the Tuscan seaside town of Viareggio. Click here to view pictures from the scene.

Finally, singer Bill Medley has renewed his call for help in solving his ex-wife's murder. In 1976, Karen Klaas was raped and killed in her Calif. home. The case remains unsolved to this day, but DNA evidence could bring closure to Klaas's family and friends. Click here to view a video interview with Medley from CBS2/KCal9. Detectives have re-released a sketch of a man who was seen exiting Klaas's front door when the neighbors went to check on her. If you have information about this crime, contact the Hermosa Beach Police Department at (310) 524-2750 or via this Internet form.

Most-read stories overnight: A federal jury returned a $1.67 billion verdict against Abbot Laboratories yesterday, Reuters reported. The patent suit claimed Abbot's drug Humira competed with Johnson & Johnson's older medication Remicade. "We're disappointed at this verdict, and we are confident in the merits of our case and that we will prevail on appeal," Abbott spokesman Scott Stoffel said.

Readers were also interested in this AP story about a 6-floor parking deck that collapsed in Atlanta. While rescuers are still searching through the rubble, no fatalities or injuries have been reported. At least 35 cars were damaged in the collapse on Monday afternoon, but the cause of the incident is still unknown.

Looking ahead: An FDA panel is scheduled to vote on whether Nyquil and other cold medications should be pulled from store shelves to curb deadly overdoses. And General Motors will head to bankruptcy court today to seek approval to sell its assets.

Today's poll: What do you consider the safest mode of travel? Click here to share your thoughts.

Yesterday's poll: Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison yesterday for running a multibillion dollar Ponzi scheme. What did you think his punishment should be? Seventy-seven percent of respondents agreed with the judge's decision. Only 5 percent thought he should be sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Today in history: In 1908, an asteroid exploded above Tunguska in Siberia, leaving 800 square miles of scorched or blown-down trees.

Birthdays: Olympic gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps, 24. Singer Fantasia, 25. Actress Monica Potter, 38. Actor Brian Bloom, 39. Musician Tom Drummond (Better Than Ezra), 40. Boxer Mike Tyson, 43. Actress Deirdre Lovejoy, 47. Actor Vincent D'Onofrio, 50. Actor/comedian David Alan Grier, 53. Minn. men's basketball coach Tubby Smith, 58. Singer Lena Horne, 92.

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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.