Washington in 60 Seconds: Levi Johnston, Angry Mobs and 230 MPG

Good morning, Capitolists! With your fearless Congressional leaders spending quality time with constituents while barricaded behind stacks of bottled water**, Washington has no choice but to look outward for once and see what's happening in the rest of the world.

Here's what's making news in Washington today. . .

* The president heads to Portsmouth, N.H., today to hold his very own health care town-hall meeting. Since this is an administration that prides itself on not pre-selecting questions at town-hall meetings, we'll be tuning at 1 p.m. EST to find out how it goes. Can he sell a public option with tax hikes to a state that would rather "Live Free or Die?"

* Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) took to her Twitter feed to buck the party line that demonstrations are Astroturf, saying, "I disagree that the people showing concern over some health care proposals are 'manufactured' Real folks, strong opinions."

* Breaking: The BBC reports Kuwaiti police have arrested six members of a terrorist cell who had planned to attack an American military base in the region.

* Hold on to your gas caps -- the Detroit Free Press reports that GM says the new Chevy Volt, an electric plug-in car, will get 230 MPG in the city. Time to buy American.

* Your eyes did not deceive you last night as you watched the Teen Choice Awards. Kathy Griffin's date was Levi Johnston, Sarah Palin's semi-estranged, not-quite son-in-law, who is hoping for an acting career after getting so much great press in the last year. (New York Daily News)

** And finally in today's Angry Mob Update: The Washington Times writes that members of Congress are looking for ways to turn down the volume at town-hall meetings, including having constituents take a number for one-on-one meetings or barricading themselves behind stacks of bottled water during open forums at grocery stores. (One of those worked out, one didn't.)