From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

Gun control, the fiscal cliff and disarray in Washington.

Hello again, I'm Arminolny, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

The daily look at the issues Americans care about most. The National Rifle Association today broke the silence it's maintained since last week's elementary school massacre in Connecticut. The NRA's top spokesman said, the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, demanding that Congress pay for armed guards in every school yard.

We'll hear how that could affect the renewed debate about gun control.

Meantime, the failure of House Speaker Boehner's Plan B has increased doubts that the fiscal

cliff can be avoided before the end of the year.

Can the president and fellow Democrats cobble together some kind of a fix that a few House

Republicans might support? First, here's the news.

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Hello again, Warren Olney, back with To the Point.

Congress has adjourned for Christmas after Speaker John Boehner failed to get all his fellow

Republicans to support his Plan B.

Later on, we'll look at the possible options left for the President and Democrats who only

control the Senate.

First, this news update, the NRA's executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre,

said today that the lives of 20 Connecticut first graders might have been saved last week

if school officials had guns. He called for every school to be protected by armed guards.

It's now time for us to assume responsibility for our schools.

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