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After Vice President Biden said Wednesday that the Obama administration might take some executive actions on the issues of guns and gun-related violence, questions naturally arose:

What kinds of things was he talking about? What might the administration do that doesn't require Congressional action?

We're pretty sure this won't happen.

But ...

You practically can't visit a news site these days without seeing a story about why President Obama should or should not order the Treasury Department to strike a platinum coin "worth" $1 trillion and deposit it with the Federal Reserve.

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President Obama will nominate his chief of staff as the next treasury secretary later today. Jack Lew is a budget expert who could hit the ground running, as the Treasury tries to cope with a looming debt ceiling, automatic spending cuts and the ongoing push for long-term deficit reduction. Lew would be the latest nominee for a high-profile Cabinet post, as the president prepares for a second term.

It's no news that the U.S. has lower life expectancy and higher infant mortality than most high-income countries. But a magisterial new report says Americans are actually less healthy across their entire life spans than citizens of 16 other wealthy nations.

And the gap is steadily widening.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed tough new gun laws in his State of the State address on Wednesday. Audie Cornish talks to Joel Rose about the new laws, and their chances of passing a state legislature where Republicans hold considerable power.

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JEFF IDELSON: Time to open up the envelope.

(SOUNDBITE OF PAPER)

BLOCK: The envelope revealing the results of this year's vote for baseball's Hall of Fame. We're hearing Jeff Idelson on the MLB Network. He's president of the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

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Another milestone for same-sex marriage. Today, the Washington National Cathedral announced it will begin celebrating same-sex weddings. The soaring, neogothic cathedral has hosted presidential funerals, and prayer services for presidential inaugurations. Now, the dean of the cathedral, the Very Rev. Gary Hall, says his church will enthusiastically affirm each person as a beloved child of God, through the sacramental blessings of Christian marriage.

The Obama administration has long hinted that White House chief of staff Jack Lew was the president's choice for the next Treasury Secretary. An announcement is expected as soon as Thursday. Scott Horsley talks with Melissa Block about the likely pick.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case testing whether the police must get a warrant before ordering blood to be drawn from an unwilling drunken-driving suspect.

The court has long held that, except in emergency situations, warrants are required when government officials order bodily intrusions like a blood draw. But in Wednesday's case, the state of Missouri and the Obama administration contended that warrants should not be required before administering blood tests to suspected drunken drivers.

The Case