Oscar Night: Ben Affleck’s “Argo” is heavily favored to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards tonight. Daniel Day-Lewis looks like a lock for Best Actor for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln, and Jennifer Lawrence Best Actress for “Silver Linings Playbook”.

National: Congress takes up new gun laws this week as The National Rifle Association stiffens its resistance to banning assault weapons, or screening the people who buy them. NRA chief Wayne LaPiere said last night that,  “This so-called universal background check that you’re hearing about all over the media is aimed at one thing. It’s aimed at registering your guns. And when another tragic opportunity presents itself, that registry will be used to confiscate your guns.”

• A spectacular crash yesterday at Daytona International Speedway injured 28 spectators. Twelve cars tangled as they approached the checkered flag and one of them went airborne, breaking apart and sending debris, including two tires into the stands.

Equal Rights: Twenty-six year old Ronda Rousey of Venice, CA became the first woman to win a bout in the Ultimate Fighting Championships. An Olympic Bronze medalist in Judo, Rousey took five minutes to kick the crap out of former Marine Liz Carmouche. UFC President Dana White said he introduced women’s fighting because, “It’s the right thing to do.”

3/5ths of An Idea: The President of Emory University has been taking heat all week for an article he wrote praising the 1787 political compromise in which slaves were counted as 3/5ths of a person for the purpose of Congressional representation. Emory President James Wagner praised it as an example of how bitter political opposites can find compromise. Wagner said the compromise put slaves on the path to recognition as human beings, but many of his readers didn’t get the point.

World: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered US Special Forces out of Wardak Province west of Kabul. A statement released by the president’s office blames Special Forces for harassment, torture and disappearances of innocent people.  Karzai gave them two weeks to get out.

• The BBC reports that Oscar Pistorius’s brother Carl also faces charges in court for the death of a woman on a motorcycle in a 2008 traffic accident. Oscar Pistorius is charged with “culpable homicide”.

Bright Lights, Big City: Clear Channel Communications is threatening to sue Los Angeles for $100 million if the city tries to turn off 79 digital billboards in accordance with a court ruling. Los Angeles has been fighting long and losing battles with billboard companies blighting the view.

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