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

Nuclear weapons and the politics of national security.

Hello again, I'm Arvin Alney, and this is To the Poet from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

Senate ratification of the new START treaty with Russia looked like a shoe-in,

but after Republicans raised objections, debate went down to the wire.

The Pentagon's top brass and Republican cold warriors said it would make America safer,

but Senate GOP leaders and other confirmed hawks said no.

Did the president cave in to Russian demands? What about missile defense? Why were short-range battlefield weapons left out?

Will another victory in the lame duck session advance the cause of a world without nuclear weapons

or solidify opposition to the president's vision? On reporter's notebook later on, Yukon breaks a record, or does it?

First, here's the news.

And from the Public Radio International Program Fund,

whose contributors include the Ford Foundation,

the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation,

and the Rockefeller Foundation, and its campaign for American workers.

More at rockfound.org.

Hello again, Warren Alney, back with To the Point. The new START treaty with Russia would reduce nuclear weapons and renew inspections of both sides. So why did Republicans become so

divided over Senate ratification? We'll hear the pros and cons. On reporter's notebook, will women get credit for breaking a record set by men?

Do the University of Connecticut Huskies compare to John Wooden's Bruins at UCLA?

First, this news update. Last week, it was the tax deal.

This morning, it was repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, as President Obama signed a campaign promise into law,

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