News Wrap: Syrian peace talks reach impasse after two days

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• GWEN IFILL:

  Good evening. I'm Gwen Ifill.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  And I'm Judy Woodruff.

• GWEN IFILL:

  On the "NewsHour" tonight: Candidates try to win over New Hampshire, as Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders prepare for a town hall forum tonight.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  Also ahead this Wednesday: A rare case of the Zika virus, possibly being sexually transmitted in Texas, raises new questions and concerns.

• GWEN IFILL:

  And a violent response to refugees in Sweden, as the right wing rallies against an influx of thousands.

• FREDRIK HAGBERG, Nordic Youth:

  It's chaos in Sweden. It's getting worse by the minute. It's like the gates of hell is open.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  All that and more on tonight's "PBS NewsHour."

  (BREAK)

• GWEN IFILL:

  In the day's other news, oil prices reversed course again and jumped 8 percent, and stocks mostly followed suit. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 183 points to close at 16336. The Nasdaq lost 12 points and the S&P 500 added nine.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  The Syrian peace talks in Geneva came to a halt today, just two days after being convened. The opposition had demanded humanitarian moves take place first, while the Assad regime focused on the makeup of the opposition side. Given the impasse, the special U.N. envoy said it's time to take a break and resume February 25.

  STAFFAN DE MISTURA, UN Special Envoy for Syria: I have therefore taken this decision to bring a temporary pause, temporary pause. This is not the end, and it is not the failure of the talks. Why? They came and they stayed, not only, but both sides insisted on the fact that they are interested in having the political process started.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  The announcement came as Syrian government ground forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, broke a long-running siege by the opposition of two villages near Aleppo, Syria's largest city.

• GWEN IFILL:

  The near-daily Palestinian attacks on Israelis escalated today. Police say three Palestinians armed with guns, knives and bombs killed one border security officer and wounded another in Jerusalem. Police then shot and killed the attackers. Authorities say the Palestinians were planning a larger-scale assault on civilians.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  In Afghanistan, Taliban gunmen have killed a 10-year-old boy who had fought the militants. Wasil Ahmad became a local hero last year for joining a militia when his father was killed. Police say he was shot twice in the head Monday in Uruzgan province as he left home near the provincial capital.

• GWEN IFILL:

  North Korea's neighbors warned the communist state today to abandon plans for launching a satellite this month. South Korea said the North will pay — quote — "a severe price" if it goes ahead.

  And Japan's military deployed missile interceptors in Tokyo, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged North Korea to show restraint.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  Back in this country, President Obama paid his first visit to an American mosque. He spoke at the Islamic Society of Baltimore and argued that the U.S. has no place for bigotry, and that Muslims are too often blamed — quote — "for the violent acts of the very few."

• PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:

  When any religious group is targeted, we all have a responsibility to speak up, and we have to reject a politics that seeks to manipulate prejudice or bias and targets people because of religion.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  The presidential visit followed Islamist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, and a growing number of criticisms of American Muslims.

• GWEN IFILL:

  And there's word that two more NFL football stars, both quarterbacks, had the brain disease CTE. Ken Stabler and the Oakland Raiders won the Super Bowl in 1977. He died last year. And Boston University researchers now say he had widespread brain damage. And Earl Morrall's family says he, too, had advanced CTE at his death in 2014. He won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Colts in 1971.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  Still to come on the "NewsHour": addressing the root cause of the Zika virus outbreak; the rise of Sweden's radical right, a backlash against refugees; a struggling Yahoo slashes jobs; and much more.