The Starting Point Gay Rights Missing Pilots amp Michael Jackson
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: Thousands of U.S. Marines poured into Taliban-controlled villages in southern Afghanistan today, in the first major operation under President Barack Obama’s strategy to stabilize the country. The operation, dubbed Khanjar, or “Strike of the Sword” — is aimed at clearing insurgents from the region before the Aug. 20 presidential election. On Tuesday, insurgents captured an American soldier in eastern Afghanistan, The Associated Press reported. In an effort to protect the missing GI, details about his identity have not been released. “We are using all of our resources to find him and provide for his safe return,” said Capt. Elizabeth Mathias.
In other news: North Korea test-fired two short-range missiles today, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said. The weapons, which were reportedly ground-to-ship missiles, launched from the eastern coastal city of Wonsan. These new tests are likely to ramp up tensions in the region, which have been running high since Pyongyang’s underground nuclear test on May 25.A Staten Island ferry carrying about 800 passengers lost power while docking during rush hour yesterday, and slammed into a pier, The AP reported. Prior to the collision, the crew warned the passengers to head to the back of the ship and brace for impact. Only 15 people were injured.Finally, British actress Mollie Sugden died on July 1, Reuters reported. Cause of death was not released. She was 86. Sugden worked on the BBC TV comedy series “The Liver Birds” and on the long-running ITV soap opera “Coronation Street,” but she was best known for playing the bossy Mrs. Slocombe on the innuendo-laden BBC series “Are You Being Served?” Click here to watch a video obituary from the BBC.Most-read stories overnight: A gunman opened fire inside a busy dental office in Southern California yesterday, killing one woman and wounding four others. According to The AP, the suspect then barricaded himself inside Family Dental Care in Simi Valley, and refused to come out. A hostage negotiator talked him into surrendering to police an hour later. At the time of this writing, the identity of the shooter has not been released; however, The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the dead woman as 24-year-old Mariela Paredes.Readers were also interested in this AP story about a landmark court case out of India. The Delhi High Court ruled that treating consensual gay sex as a crime was a violation of fundamental rights protected by India’s constitution. While the ruling is not binding outside of New Delhi, it should protect the area’s gay community from criminal charges and police harassment.Looking ahead: French investigators will present their initial findings into what caused Air France Flight 447 to crash into the Atlantic Ocean last month. And a Missouri mother, who faces up to three years in prison for her role in a MySpace hoax directed at a 13-year-old girl, could be sentenced today.Today’s poll: Michael Jackson has dominated the news since his death on June 25. How would you rate the media’s coverage? Click here to share your thoughts.Yesterday’s poll: What do you think is the best way(s) to safeguard the nation’s food supply against unintentional and deliberate contamination? Twenty percent of respondents called for the FDA to increase inspections of U.S. and imported foods. Seventeen percent want companies and farms that fail inspections to face fines. And 14 percent said they either wanted the public to handle and prepare food safely or for food makers to label goods with point of origin information.Today in history: In 1937, aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight at the equator. They were never seen alive again.Birthdays: Actress Lindsay Lohan, 23. Actress Ashley Tisdale, 24. Figure skater Johnny Weir, 25. Singer Michelle Branch, 26. Actress Yancy Butler, 39. Musician Dave Parsons (Bush), 44. Actress/model Jerry Hall, 53. Musician Roy Bittan (The E Street Band), 60. Actor Saul Rubinek, 61. Luci Baines Johnson, daughter for President Lyndon B. Johnson, 62. Writer/director Larry David, 62. Former White House Chief of Staff John Sununu, 70. Auto racer Richard Petty, 72. Actress Polly Holliday, 72. Actor Robert Ito, 78. Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos, 80. Nobel Prize-winning poet Wislawa Szymborska, 86.
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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.
