12 seconds ago 2009-12-15T19:40:02-08:00
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: Clashes between security forces and militants in northwest Pakistan left more than 56 insurgents and six soldiers dead. According to The Associated Press, the vast majority of the deaths occurred during a two-day operation in a region bordering the Swat Valley. The Pakistan military also arrested five militants disguised in burqas who allegedly tried to flee a search operation in the area.
In other news: Taliban militants attacked government buildings and a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan today, The AP reported. The near-simultaneous attacks, which involved suicide bombings, gunfire and rockets, led to the deaths of eight insurgents and six Afghan security forces.
A suspected drug trafficker was arrested in Tijuana over the weekend carrying narcotics, jewelry and $3.6 million in cash, The AP reported. The Defense Department said Luis Ibarra belongs to a cell in charge of making and trafficking methamphetamine for alleged drug kingpin Teodoro Garcia Simental.
Finally, Yahoo! plans to debut a homepage makeover today. The new design will offer readers the ability to personalize the homepage and add a variety of applications from other sites, including Facebook and AOL. Local headlines from U.S. newspapers will also appear in the news box on Yahoo.com.
Most-read stories overnight: The arrest of a well-known Harvard professor definitely caught the attention of readers. According to The AP, prominent black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. was trying to force his way through his jammed front door when the police arrived on the scene, responding to a burglary report. Although Gates presented his identification, a verbal altercation occurred which prompted the officers to arrest him. Gates was later charged with disorderly conduct for exhibiting "loud and tumultuous behavior." Civil rights leaders and colleagues say his arrest is part of a pattern of racial profiling in Cambridge, Mass.
Readers were also interested in this AP story about a Tasering incident in Illinois. According to a federal civil rights lawsuit, a Jefferson County sheriff's deputy allegedly zapped three children with a stun gun at an emergency youth shelter, threatened to sodomize one of them and choked a fourth child. No charges have been filed in the case and Sheriff Roger Mulch, who was also named in the suit, said the officer followed protocol and did "nothing out of the ordinary."
Looking ahead: Ohio plans to execute Marvallous Keene, 36, tonight by lethal injection. Keene was convicted of five murders after he and three accomplices went on a killing and robbery rampage in Dayton in 1992. An Army sergeant charged with killing his supervisor and another U.S. soldier in Iraq last year will be arraigned in a military courtroom today. Sgt. Joseph Bozicevich is accused of fatally shooting Staff Sgt. Darris Dawson of Pensacola, Fla., and Sgt. Wesley Durbin of Dallas. Finally, Alex Cooper Auctioneers are scheduled to begin taking bids on the Watergate Hotel today. Several hotel chains and developers have already expressed interest in the Washington D.C. landmark made famous by the scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon.
Today's poll: Suspended NFL star Michael Vick ended his federal dogfighting sentence yesterday. Do you think he should be allowed to return to the field? Click here to share your thoughts.
Yesterday's poll: In 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. Were you alive 40 years ago when this historic event occurred? Seventy-eight percent of respondents said yes.
Today in history: Ten years ago, Navy divers recovered the bodies of John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, in the wreckage of Kennedy's plane in the Atlantic Ocean off Martha's Vineyard.
Birthdays: Actor Jamie Waylett, 20. Football player Kellen Winslow II, 26. Singer Blake Lewis, 28. Baseball player C.C. Sabathia, 29. Actress Sprague Grayden, 29. Singer Damian Marley, 31. Actor Josh Hartnett, 31. Actress Ali Landry, 36. Soccer player Brandi Chastain, 41. Musician Koen Lieckens (K's Choice), 43. Comedian/author Greg Behrendt, 46. Comedian/actor Jon Lovitz, 52. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), 57. Actor/comedian Robin Williams, 58. Cartoonist Garry Trudeau, 61. Singer/songwriter Yusef Islam, 61. Actor Edward Herrmann, 66. Actress Patricia Elliot, 67. U.S. House majority whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), 68. Former national intelligence director John Negroponte, 70. Former attorney general Janet Reno, 71. Director Norman Jewison, 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.
