OscarNoms: Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” collected 12 Oscar nominations this morning, including Best Picture. Also up for Best Picture, “Argo” and “Zero Dark Thirty”, both of which were stiffed for Best Director.

Gunbeats Along the Potomac: The White House might be prepared to take serious unilateral action on gun violence without approval of Congress, Vice President Joe Biden said after a meeting with concerned parties in Washington. He said the administration wants to talk to all sides of the issue, “But the president is going to act. There is executive action that can be taken. We haven’t decided what that is yet.” After seeing how serious the administration is, the big box Wal-Mart chain, which sells many guns, agreed to join the talks.

National: The agriculture department declared major portions of four wheat-growing states to be disaster areas because of persistent drought. Conditions for the winter wheat crop, planted in fall and harvested in spring, are not looking good. Expect higher prices for wheat-based foods.

• After stirring up anger across the country by merely considering the possibility, insurance giant AIG says it will not join a lawsuit that claims the company’s investors were deprived of profits by the federal bailout.

Spare Change: In the face of Republican opposition to raising the national debt ceiling, the idea has been floating around that the US Mint could stamp a $1 trillion platinum coin, lock it in a vault, and use the value to pay down the deficit. While the idea is looked upon as a joke, the law allows the treasury to do just that.

  It was around here somewhere, just a moment ago ….

Seau: Former NFL linebacker Junior Seau, who committed suicide last spring, had degenerative brain disease caused by blows to the head.

Say It Ain’t So: All-time home run hitter Barry Bonds and pitcher Roger Clemens, a seven-time winner of the Cy Young Award, both were denied entry to the Baseball Hall of Fame on their first ballot. They fell far short of the 75% approval required of the baseball writers, likely because both are suspected of using performance-enhancing steroids.

His John Hancock: The nomination of the President’s Chief of Staff Jack Lew to become Secretary of the Treasury is already controversial because his signature, which would be placed on new dollar bills, is an illegible series of loops that look like an overstretched Slinky and nothing like the name “Jack Lew”.

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