Secretary of State John Kerry pushed parties tentatively engaged in talks to

end the civil war in Syria closer to the negotiating table, reminding the
participants of the carnage and famine that have flowed from a failure to
come to terms. Step one of the UN-sponsored dialogue is to pursue an
immediate ceasefire, but Syrias main opposition bloc warned that a
government offensive in Aleppo could upend the talks. Kerry, reaching the
parties through a video message distributed through social media, cautioned
that while battlefield dynamics can affect negotiating leverage, in the end
there is no military solution to this conflict.

President Obama prepared to visit the Islamic Center of Baltimore

Wednesday. Advocates prepared to push out messages of tolerance and the
dangers of Islamophobia; grantee ReThink Media supplied lists of journalists
who have covered hate crimes against Muslims, as well as social media
guidance on how to make the most of the opportunity presented by the
presidents visit, his first to a mosque in the U.S. They have their work cut out
for them; on the eve of the visit, conservative news outlets circulated reports
suggesting that a former imam at the mosque had ties to the Muslim
Brotherhood and a Northern Virginia house of worship where Anwar al-Awlaki
once preached.

As the presidential campaign moved on to New Hampshire, grantees were

busy seeking to shape the conversation about Iowa victor Ted Cruz, who rode
evangelical support and a highly developed, data driven ground game to a
poll-defying finish, as well as Granite State frontrunner Donald Trump (exit
polls showed Trump with a significant lead among caucus-goers who cited
immigration as a top concern) and newly surging Marco Rubio. Americas
Voice disseminated a report documenting 10 times Rubio turned his back on
immigrants. As supporters of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders sparred
over whether Clintons narrow edge over the Vermont senator actually
constituted a victory (they receive the same allotment of delegates),
Democrats studied some interesting demographic tea leaves; exit polls
suggested that Sanders captured a stunning 84 percent of caucus-goers age
17-29. While the losers sought to downplay the significance of Iowas
decisions, pundits reminded readers that every winner of a competitive
major party presidential nomination contest since 1980 except one started off
by winning the Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire primary or both, as Vox
put it. (The exception? That other candidate named Clinton, 1992).

Democratic message-crafters warned colleagues on Capitol Hill that the party

trails Republicans by a substantial margin in a new survey asking who voters
trusted most on national security issues.

New data suggested that the number of women and children caught trying to
cross the U.S. southern border dropped significantly in the month of January.
While some will attribute the change to winter weather, the administration is
likely to see it as ratification of the success of their campaign of ICE raids,
which has infuriated advocates and many Democrats in Congress. Homeland
Security Secretary Jeh Johnson indicated that the raids would continue.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post was the latest to chronicle the violence
leading many women to flee the Northern Triangle countries in Central
America, despite the risks of coming into this country.

Georgias Supreme Court ruled against a group of plaintiffs brought into the
U.S. illegally as minors who sought in-state tuition to the states colleges and
universities.

Among other grantee and advocate activities:

--The Sikh Coalition rolled out a new online tool, accessible via computer or
mobile phone, to help communities record and track episodes of hate speech
and hate crime.

--Immigrant rights advocates and national labor leaders prepared for a Feb. 3
press conference to draw attention to the human toll of deportation raids and
the need to improve access to legal services for those affected.

--Human Rights First urged U.S. officials to call on France not to extend the
state of emergency established immediately following the Paris attacks.
Limiting freedoms in the name of security is counterproductive and risks
fueling the grievances that drive extremism and violence, Susan Corke, the
groups director of antisemitism and extremism, said in a statement.