Tea parties descend on Capitol  —  Thousands of tea party activists descended on Washington Thursday to protest the trillion-dollar health care bill and government spending, holding signs protesting Barack Obama's agenda while aiming chants of “You work for us” at the Capitol building.

WEAK KNEES KEEP SHAKING.... In Tuesday's congressional races, voters sent two more House Democrats to Congress, expanding an already-large Democratic majority on the Hill.  In 2008, the electorate made a House Democratic majority bigger, and in 2009, Dems went five for five in special elections, making that majority bigger still.

Congressional Budget Office Thrashes Republican Health-Care Plan  —  Republicans are learning an unpleasant lesson this morning: The only thing worse than having no health-care reform plan is releasing a bad one, getting thrashed by CBO and making the House Democrats look good in comparison.

NBC: 7 dead, 12 injured in Fort Hood shooting  —  No word from the military base whether the victims are military or civilians  —  At least seven people are dead and 12 wounded in a shooting at Fort Hood in Texas, the base's public affairs office told NBC News on Thursday.

Steele to Republicans Who Support Obama: 'We'll Come After You'  —  ABC News' Rick Klein reports: RNC Chairman Michael Steele has been endorsing a “big tent” approach to recruiting candidates for 2010, emphasizing the need to find candidates who fit the needs of individual districts.

Huckabee, Romney, Palin See Most Republican Support for '12  —  Huckabee, Romney viewed as most qualified of possible Republican presidential candidates  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Looking ahead to the 2012 presidential election, 71% of Republicans say they would seriously consider voting for Mike Huckabee.

Crist says he never backed stimulus measure  —  (CNN) - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist tells CNN he never endorsed President Obama's $787 billion stimulus measure, in what appears to be the latest effort by the Florida Republican to distance himself from the president as he seeks his party's Senate nomination.

Right-wing protesters at GOP rally display prominent sign tying health care to the Holocaust.  —  ThinkProgress' Lee Fang snapped this photograph of a prominent sign being displayed at today's GOP anti-health care rally.  It's unclear whether this sign is one of the many being handed …

The Vote for Mayor, Block by Block  —  Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg won re-election Tuesday, but voters were less enthusiastic about him than the last time he ran in 2005.  The mayor did well in high-income white areas of Manhattan and Queens, and also in election districts dominated by immigrants, like Flushing and Brighton Beach.

Michelle Obama to star with Nigella Lawson as she becomes first presidential wife to appear on a reality show  —  Michelle Obama is to be the first presidential wife to appear on a reality TV series.  —  The First Lady will make a guest appearance on ‘Iron Chef America’ which features British cook Nigella Lawson as a judge.

IAEA found nothing serious at Iran site: ElBaradei  —  VIENNA (Reuters) - U.N. inspectors found “nothing to be worried about” in a first look at a previously secret uranium enrichment site in Iran last month, the International Atomic Energy chief said in remarks published Thursday.

Unhealthy America  —  The moment of truth for health care is at hand, and the distortion that perhaps gets the most traction is this: … That self-aggrandizing delusion may be the single greatest myth in the health care debate.  In fact, America's health care system is worse than Slov—er, oops, more on that later.

Facebook exec leverages online, offline friends in campaign  —  There are 7 million Democrats in California.  About 5 million of them will be on Facebook by the time the state elects a new attorney general one year from now.  —  That could be helpful for Facebook's Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly …

After Mickey's Makeover, Less Mr. Nice Guy  —  LOS ANGELES — For decades, the Walt Disney Company has largely kept Mickey Mouse frozen under glass, fearful that even the tiniest tinkering might tarnish the brand and upend his $5 billion or so in annual merchandise sales.

Dem to hold hearing on H1N1 vaccine distribution to Wall St. firms  —  A chairman of a key subcommittee announced Thursday that he will hold a hearing on H1N1 vaccine distribution in response to reports that top Wall Street firms have secured large amounts of doses for their employees.

Fresh on the heels of repeal in Maine, N.H. may reconsider gay marriage  —  DOVER — Now that gay marriage has been defeated in Maine, attention again shifts to New Hampshire, where lawmakers say momentum from Tuesday's vote may fuel legislation to repeal the state's law and give voters a say.

Sen. Snowe: Tuesday's results ‘certainly gives pause on how you approach’ health reform - Yanks are world champs  —  BIRTHDAYS: Autumn Hanna VandeHei, the hottest and smartest wife-mother-friend (boot tip: Jimmy) ... Sloan Rappaport big 4-0 birthday (hat tip: Margaret and Freddie) …