The Starting Point: Dying tomatoes and a fantastic fossil find

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: U.S. drones attacked a training facility operated by Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and a militant communication center in Pakistan today, The Associated Press reported. At the time of this writing, 17 people were killed and 27 were wounded in the missile strikes. In neighboring Afghanistan, U.S. Marines continued to push deeper into the southern Helmand province in a major anti-Taliban offensive. Pakistan said it plans to move troops near the border opposite the province in an effort to capture any militants fleeing from the American assault.

In other news: An Iranian cleric said British Embassy staffers who allegedly took part in opposition protests will be tried in Tehran, The AP reported. The announcement came a day after the European Union demanded that Iran release the staffers, who were detained on June 27.

The fossils of three new species of dinosaurs have been discovered in Australia. According to Reuters, the remains of the two plant-eating dinosaurs and one carnivore were found in Queensland and date back 98 million years. "Australia is one of the great untapped resources in our current understanding of life from the Age of Dinosaurs. The discoveries...will definitely reinvigorate interest in the hitherto tantalizingly incomplete, but globally significant record from this continent," paleontologist Ben Kear said.

Finally, Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi was cited on Thursday for drunken driving, The AP reported. Phoenix police stopped the WNBA star for allegedly speeding, then gave her several field sobriety tests when the officer smelled alcohol. Hours before the incident, Taurasi scored 22 points and blocked four shots in the Mercury's 93-81 win over the Seattle Storm.

Most-read stories overnight: Tomato plants have been pulled from stores in six states due to the widespread appearance of late blight. While not harmful to humans, late blight is extremely contagious and destructive to plants. It is also the same disease that caused the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s.

Readers were also interested in this AP story about drug raids in the Northwest. While busting a drug-trafficking ring in Washington state, federal agents found a stockpile of powerful weaponry. Twenty-three guns were seized during "Operation Arctic Chill," including an AK-47-type semiautomatic assault rifle and a .50-caliber Desert Eagle pistol. The pistol can "blow a hole the size of a Mack truck through a person," said Leigh Winchell, regional chief of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Today's poll: Many Americans will celebrate Independence Day by watching movies. What's your favorite film to view on July 4th? Click here to share your thoughts.

Yesterday's poll: Michael Jackson has dominated the news since his death on June 25. How do you rate the media's coverage? Eighty-two percent of respondents said the media had gone overboard.

Today in history: In 1971, singer Jim Morrison of The Doors died in Paris. He was 27.

Birthdays: Actress Kelsey Batelaan, 14. Actor Patrick Wilson, 36. Musician Kevin Hearn (Barenaked Ladies), 40. Actress Yeardley Smith, 45. Actress Connie Nielsen, 45. Actor Tom Cruise, 47. Actress Hunter Tylo, 47. Actor Thomas Gibson, 47. Talk show host Montel Williams, 53. Former Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvalier, 58. Actress Jan Smithers, 60. Actress Betty Buckley, 62. Humor writer Dave Barry, 62. Actor Kurtwood Smith, 66. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), 69. Playwright Tom Stoppard, 72.

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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.