Nation Briefly

Minister Louis Farrakhan, 73, who recently ceded leadership of the Nation of Islam to an executive board because of ill health, has undergone a 12-hour operation, the organization said Saturday. Physicians have told Farrakhan’s family they were pleased with the operation’s outcome but will monitor him closely for the next 24 to 48 hours, the Chicago-based group said in a statement. No other details were released. Farrakhan had surgery in 2000 for prostate cancer.

New York: Airliners damaged

The left wing of a plane backing out of a gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport clipped the tail of another plane on the taxiway Saturday afternoon, but no one was injured, authorities said. The Air China flight had 215 passengers onboard and 23 crewmembers and was destined for Beijing when its wing clipped a Delta plane, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said. The Delta jet was empty, a spokeswoman said.

Louisiana: Eight ‘Big Easy’ slayings

With at least eight slayings in New Orleans in the first week of the new year, officials are considering a curfew to help stem the violence, the police superintendent said Saturday. “It’s something we’re just sort of talking about, to see if that will make a difference,” he said. Mayor Ray Nagin urged residents not to leave the city, still rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina, because of the recent killings. He said the slayings could be a tipping point that “galvanizes our community” to find solutions.

Commuter train kills graffiti artist

A 13-year-old boy had just finished painting graffiti near railroad tracks when he was struck and killed by a commuter train, authorities and friends said Saturday. A Long Island Rail Road train hit Ari Kraft between stations in Queens during the evening rush hour Friday, police said. The city’s medical examiner said he died of “blunt impact injuries to the head, torso and extremities.” The teen and three pals had been painting on the elevated tracks, his friends said.

From Herald news services