The Starting Point: Security issues, Kim Jong Il and 496 dogs

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 new report from the Government Accountability Office showed major security holes at nearly a dozen federal sites, The Associated Press reported. Investigators conducting the tests were able to smuggle bomb-making material past security in 10 federal buildings. Once inside the undercover agents built explosive devices and walked the hallways without detection. "The findings of covert security tests conducted by GAO investigators are stunning and completely unacceptable. In post-9/11 America, I cannot fathom how security breaches of this magnitude were allowed to occur," said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). The GAO report will be discussed today during a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

In other news: A suspected U.S. missile strike destroyed a Taliban camp in Pakistan today, the second such attack in the South Waziristan region in the past 24 hours. According to The AP, 10 insurgents were killed in the pre-dawn strike. Pakistani troops also bombed military targets in the region in an effort to lessen the effectiveness of insurgents following Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud.

President Barack Obama joined fellow world leaders at the G8 summit in Italy. Expected topics of discussion include climate change, the global economic crisis and world hunger. China President Hu Jintao left the summit early to deal with continuing ethnic clashes in his country. 

Finally, Kim Jong Il made a rare public appearance today, The AP reported. The thin-looking North Korean leader, who reportedly suffered a stroke last year, paid tribute to his father Kim Il-sung on the 15th anniversary of his death.

Most-read stories overnight: Oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens has reportedly called off plans to build a massive wind farm in the Texas Panhandle, Reuters reported. The well-publicized project was scuttled due to financial concerns and a lack of adequate transmission lines to carry the electricity from remote locations to cities.

Readers were also interested in this AP story about an animal cruelty case in Texas. Nearly 500 dogs were seized yesterday from a kennel 90 miles northwest of Dallas after the Humane Society of North Texas received complaints that the animals weren't receiving proper care. The dogs were allegedly being held in double-stacked crates and housed in outbuildings and outdoor pens. Some of the dogs had developed skin conditions and open sores; two were immediately taken to veterinarians for critical care. Several dead animals were also found on the property. Click here to view a slideshow of the seizure from the Forth Worth Star-Telegram.

Looking ahead: A computer attack that began on July 4 knocked out the Websites of several government agencies, including The Treasury Department and the Secret Service. What do you think the U.S. should do to shore up its computer systems? Click here to share your thoughts.

Yesterday's poll: Do you believe the U.S. government should issue new identification numbers to the public? Respondents were evenly split on the issue.

Today in history: In 1907, Florenz Ziegfeld staged his first "Follies" on the roof of the New York Theater in New York City.

Birthdays: Actor Jaden Smith, 11. Actress Sophia Bush, 27. Actor Milo Ventimiglia, 32. Musician Stephen Mason (Jars of Clay), 34. Musician Beck, 39. Actor Billy Crudup, 41. Singer Joan Osborne, 47. Singer Toby Keith, 48. Musician Andy Fletcher (Depeche Mode), 48. Actor Kevin Bacon, 51. Writer Anna Quindlen, 57. Football Hall of Famer Jack Lambert, 57. Actress Anjelica Huston, 58. Children's performer Raffi, 61. Ballerina Cynthia Gregory, 63. Actor Jeffrey Tambor, 65. Former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas), 67. Singer Steve Lawrence, 74. Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), 83.

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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.