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

Is it time for the U.S. to arm Syrian rebels?

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

The daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

After just three weeks as Secretary of State, John Carey is trying to prevent Saria's bloody stalemate from disrupting the world's most volatile region.

Russia, Hezbollah, and especially Iran, are aiding the al-Assad regime while America's refusal to arm opponents is seen as betrayal.

Saudi Arabia, reportedly is sending Croatian weapons

to anti-government forces who've ended their threat to boycott a meeting that Carrie set for later

this week. With 70,000 Syrians already dead and 850,000 turned into refugees, is there any hope

of stopping the carnage anytime soon? On reporter's notebook later on,

same-sex marriage divides the Republicans.

First, here's the news.

Listen to KCRW's 24-hour all-news channel.

Stream BBC World Service, NPR and KCRW programs.

Continuous coverage and accessible via our smartphone app or online at kCRW.

Support for To The Point comes from the members of KCRW and from the Public Radio International Program Fund.

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

Typhoid and hepatitis are the latest results of Syria's bloody violence as as America's new Secretary of State, John Kerry, takes another shot at diplomacy.

With the al-Assad regime getting help from American rivals, how much longer can the U.S. refused to help arm al-Assad's opposition?

On reporter's notebook, at least 75 top Republicans have broken with party leaders and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage. Where's President Obama? First,

this news update. Italy's most recent government promised its Eurozone partners and the rest of the

financial world to continue its regime of austerity measures. But in yesterday's general election, voters chose both the left and the right.

...