In brief: NYC deal reached to limit horse-drawn carriages

NEW YORK – A deal to reduce the number of horse-drawn carriages in New York City and permanently move stables to Central Park will now go to the City Council for approval in a compromise between the drivers and Mayor Bill de Blasio, who had pledged to end the popular rides.

The mayor, the union representing carriage drivers and Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said late Sunday they reached a deal that would reduce the number of horses from about 180 to 95 and confine operations to the park.

Currently, the horses stay at four privately owned stables on Manhattan’s West Side.

The move to the park would address one complaint from animal welfare activists: that the horses were in danger every time they made their daily walks from their staging area at the south end of the park to the urban stables where they now stay the night. But Elizabeth Forel of the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages said the agreement seemed like “a sleazy real estate deal.”

“Street traffic was never the sole reason we advocated for a ban,” she said Monday. “There are many other reasons including the sensitive, nervous nature of the horses; the very high turnover, which leads us to believe many of the unwanted go to the kill auctions, and punishing working conditions.”

When de Blasio was sworn in two years ago, he pledged to end the popular carriage rides through the park right away, calling it inhumane to keep horses in loud, car-clogged Manhattan.

Publisher pulling book on Washington, slaves

NEW YORK – Scholastic is pulling a new picture book about George Washington and his slaves amid objections it sentimentalizes a brutal part of American history.

“A Birthday Cake for George Washington” was released Jan. 5 and had been strongly criticized for its upbeat images and story of Washington’s cook, the slave Hercules and his daughter, Delia. Its withdrawal was announced Sunday.

“While we have great respect for the integrity and scholarship of the author, illustrator and editor, we believe that, without more historical background on the evils of slavery than this book for younger children can provide, the book may give a false impression of the reality of the lives of slaves and therefore should be withdrawn,” the children’s publisher said in a statement.

The book, which depicts Hercules and Delia preparing a cake for Washington, has received more than 100 one-star reviews on Amazon.com. As of Sunday evening, only 12 reviews were positive.

Cold hinders efforts

to euthanize turkeys

INDIANAPOLIS – Frigid temperatures are hampering efforts to euthanize turkeys at several southwestern Indiana farms where a strain of bird flu was found last week, freezing the hoses used to spread a foam that suffocates the affected flocks, a spokeswoman for a state agency said Monday.

The H7N8 virus was discovered on 10 turkey farms in Dubois County, which is Indiana’s top poultry- producing county, last week.

Denise Derrer of the Indiana State Board of Animal Health said state workers, staff from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and others have been using carbon dioxide gas instead of the foam. Other turkeys are being killed manually with a device that delivers a fatal head injury, but that method is slow and inefficient, she said.

As of Monday, nearly 120,000 turkeys had been killed on four of the farms, while efforts to euthanize about 121,000 turkeys continued on six other farms.

The H7N8 strain is different from the H5N2 virus that led to the deaths of 48 million birds last summer.

Uber, Airbus team for Sundance copter rides

Uber has already taken over the roads in most major cities. Now it’s getting ready to take over the skies this week at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

The San Francisco company is partnering with aircraft manufacturer Airbus Group SE for a pilot program that will let Sundance attendees hail a helicopter ride from the Uber app.

Uber spokeswoman Taylor Patterson told the Los Angeles Times the chopper rides will operate between Salt Lake City Airport and a helicopter landing pad in Park City, a journey that will take about 15 minutes. The rides, which will cost $200 per person during the day and $300 at night, include Uber SUV service to and from the helicopter pads.

Hollande declares economic emergency

PARIS – French President Francois Hollande pledged Monday to redefine France’s business model and declared what he called “a state of economic and social emergency,” unveiling a $2.2 billion plan to revive hiring and catch up with a fast-moving world economy.

The measures he proposed, however, are relatively modest, and he said they would not “put into question” the 35-hour workweek. With his country under a state of emergency since extremist attacks in November, Hollande did not seek to assume any new emergency powers over the economy.

In an annual speech to business leaders, Hollande laid out plans for training half a million jobless workers, greater use of apprenticeships, and aid for companies that hire young workers.