Nation in brief: Police mull curfew to quell killings

With at least eight slayings in the city 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,” police Superintendent Warren Riley said.

Some residents have called for a march on City Hall on Thursday to demand action to curb the violence.

Mayor Ray Nagin and Riley both tried to reassure residents that they were doing all they could to make the city safer. Riley said some covert operations were under way, and Nagin said he hoped to have details next week on a “more creative, aggressive” plan developed in talks he has had with members of the clergy.

MIAMI

Autistic teen dies after police clash

An autistic teenager who had been in a coma since a confrontation with police officers last month has died.

Kevin Colindres, 18, died Friday. He had been hospitalized since officers were called to his home after he had an outburst.

Stuart Grossman, who represents the parents in a lawsuit against the city, said Friday the officers pinned Colindres to the ground and held his ankles in the air, cutting off his breathing. The lawsuit claims the officers’ actions caused the teen to stop breathing and left him comatose.

Police have said Colindres tried to run away after a sister insisted he be taken to a crisis treatment center. The lawsuit claims police threw the teen down when he started to stand.

NEW YORK

Toy store restores prize to infant

Toys “R” Us Inc. agreed on Saturday to award a Chinese-American infant a $25,000 prize in a New Year’s baby contest after the company came under fire for disqualifying the girl because her mother was not a legal U.S. resident.

Chinese-American advocates said they were infuriated by Toys “R” Us and launched an e-mail campaign on the issue.

The company responded by awarding each of the three babies in the grand prize pool of the “First Baby of the Year Sweepstakes” a $25,000 savings bond.

The Wayne, N.J.-based company had said the prize would go to the first American baby born in 2007.

LAKE PLACID, N.Y.

Northeast reports record highs

The National Weather Service reported record or near-record temperatures across the region Saturday after a long warm spell.

Albany International Airport hit 71 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The temperature at Boston’s Logan International Airport was 69 degrees at 2:30 p.m. In New Jersey, all-time records set in 1950 were broken in Newark, Trenton and Atlantic City. And in New York City’s Central Park, the thermometer hit 72, tying January’s all-time high. The city, and much of the region, has seen no snow this winter.

A cold front coming into the Northeast was expected to begin lowering temperatures Saturday night, said Neil Stuart, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.