sea world's captive and controversial killer whales. the massive marine mammals long delighted audiences and angered animal rights activists. the theme park announced a change, the orca freeding programme will be history. orcas in our care will be the last generation of orcas at sea world. it will end orca breeding and continues to live ou their lives where they continue to inspire and educate our guests. >> the change comes three years after the documentary black fish. focussing on violent interests. it raised ethical questions about the breeding programs. >> thursday's move signals how bad the backlash has been for the bottom line. since the film came out in 2013 numbers have blum eted, and the -- plummeted and the stock price has tanked. on twitter, people for the ethical treatment of animals said the win is huge. sea world will no longer breed orcas, and that will be the last to suffer in their tanks. sea world announced that orca shows will end at the san diego mark in 2017. shows in san antonio and orlando end by 2019. in spite of

or not killer whales should be held in captivity. today se aworld announced that he has a lung infection. animal rights activists are quick to blame this on the fact that he is spent most of his life in captivity. his health has been deteriorating and they are treating him for a bacterial infection in his lungs. the whales caregivers get emotional as they talk about the sick whale. he is estimated to be about 35 years old and has been at the park for 23 years. in 2010 whale trainer dawn dragged her into the pool. three years later he became the focus of the documentary blackfish which was critical of wales in captivity. he has also been involved in the deaths of two other people. this video claims that he is being given the best of care. animal rights activists are skeptical about this. a spokesman for the animal rights foundation said whales in captivity have higher mortality rates. if the park were truly committed to the health of workers they a pattern of aggressive behavior as well as his illness. i spent most of his life in capt

they blame a life in captivity for his aggressive behavior. in the video the park released today the veterinarian says the whale would already be dead from its illness in the wild. local animal-rights activists are skeptical. there are higher mortality rates for these type of animals in captivity than in the wild. everything about these animals being forced to live in these little boxes in marine parks is wrong. amanda: in a statement released today by peta it said it is the result of the whale being kept in captivity. peter repeated its call to release the wor orcas. jim: all lanes on the turnpike are open again. it overturned near the orange blossom trail near state road 528. lumber spilled everywhere. two people were sent to the meredith: a man was shot and killed in an apartment complex. night. it is unclear how many times he was shot. he died at the hospital. his name has not been released. one man was wounded by gunfire at an overnight shooting. it happened just before midnight bill. the man was shot in the stomach and then walked to a r

they blame a life in captivity for his aggressive behavior. in the video the park released today the veterinarian says the whale would already be dead from its illness in the wild. local animal-rights activists are skeptical.

on average, in captivity this ecould live for 30 years. they will remain at the facilities including the one behind me for quite some type. many are asking what will sea world be without its whales. the company saying simply that it's moving in a new direction. >>> break to the agreement with the nation's biggest car makers that could save some of the 100 people who die in car accidents every day. the auto makers freed to make life-saving technology that can automatically apply the brakes in an emergency standard on all models. experts believe it could cut rear-end collisions by 40%, saving thousands of lives. here's nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: it's technology that's proven to save lives. braking also known as aeb applies the brakes when a car or object is approaching fast and the driver isn't reacting. today government regulators announced the biggest automakers have alleged to make aeb standard equipment in all cars in six years, covering 9 the9% of the new cars on the market. >> life-saving a ex b systems will be not just a pricey

faces have captivated artists forever. so it may surprise you to learn that the man who painted these faces, renowned portraitist chuck close, is also face blind. say you had dinner with somebody >> wouldn't remember her. >> reporter: yet he's spent his career, even after a collapsed spinal artery left him mostly paralyzed, painting, well, faces. >> yes. >> reporter: chuck close has face blindness and he paints faces. >> correct. the reason i think i was driven to it was to, to take images of people that mattered to me and commit them to memory in the best way i can, which is to slow the whole process down, break it down with lots of little memorable pieces. >> reporter: which is exactly how he creates these works. he can't make sense of a whole face, so he works from a photograph with a grid on it. and translates what he sees, square by square, onto his guess what we've done. >> i don't know. >> reporter: we've put together we brought some of our famous faces to show him. >> from the chin, i think it's leno. >> reporter:

sea world's captive and controversial killer whales. massive marine mammals have long delighted audiences and angers activists. on thursday they announced its orca breeding program will soon be history, and is fading out the orca shows. >> this will be the last generation of orcas at sea world. the company will end orca breeding this year, and the animals will continue to live out their lives at sea world where they can continue to inspire and educate our guests. >> reporter: the change comes nearly three years after the documentary black fish, the film focused on violent incidents, and raised ethical questions about sea world's breeding programs. thursday's move signals just how bad the backlash has been for sea world's bottom line. since the film came out, visitor numbers have plummeted. animal rights activists applauded the decision. on twitter they said: sea world had earlier announced that orca shows will end at its san diego park in 2017. shows in san antonio and orlando will end in 2019. but the era of captive orcas are far from

tillicum remains in captivity. the people who run the los angeles zoo say they're forgiving a local mountain lion for eating one of their koalas. it's also the only local predator capable of scaling an eight-foot wall. since the killing, there's been a raging controversy over what to do about p-22. shoot him, relocate him, or leave him alone. the zoo now says just let him be. john blackstone reports. >> reporter: other animals at the los angeles zoo may have witnessed the crime, but they're not talking. the victim was kalarney, a 14-year-old female koala mauled to death. the main suspect is well known to authorities, and most everyone else in los angeles as p-22, the hollywood mountain lion. zoo director john lewis. >> what we know at this point is it's circumstantial, but he was in the zoo the night that the koala disappeared. certainly would be capable of doing it. >> reporter: but we do know that in griffith park, the 4,000 acre wild land preserve where the l.a. zoo is located, there is only one mountain lion on

breed its captive orcas. seaworld ceo joel manby on "cbs this morning"." >> so this will be the last generation of orcas at seaworld. obviously, that's a very difficult decision for us, but we feel it's the right one for the future of the organization. >> reporter: seaworld still holds 23 orcas in captivity at its three parks in san diego, san antonio, and orlando. the highly critical 2013 documentary "black fish" was the beginning of the end for seaworld's killer whale shows. it chronicled attacks on seaworld trainers such as dawn brancheau, who was killed by a massive orca in 2010. attendance has been falling at the parks, along with seaworld's stock price. the company is now entering into a $50 million partnership with the humane partnership, the one-time adversary. ceo wayne pacelle. >> we're hoping to partner with them to help with animals in distress-- stranded whales, stranded dolphins, stranded sea turtles. running out of options. the california coastal commission ruled it could not expand its san die

and held captive... for months. her suspected captor -- a former death row inmate in texas how he was freed... and how he ended up in colorado.. when the sun rises over denver in about an hour- and-a-half... it will be the start of a temperatures. a wonderful way just gets better meteorologist marty coniglio joins us...marty - we better enjoy this weekend... before things change. a man who was put murder-- is, once greusome crime. police say he held a raping and torturing her for four months... in 9news reporter here with more . suspect was february. yes. details of the crime-- in an 18-page arrest affidavit. it includes graphic information on the nightmare that a faced in gateway, the tiny town is grand junction. inside this home-- police say 61-year- old claude lee wilkerson carried out his crime. the 26-year-old victim was homeless, when wilkerson brought her to his home. he'd promised to let her stay there-- and pay her for doing work around the house. but the victim says-- when she got there-- wilkerson put a c

the first book "a stolen life" described her abduction and captivity.n 1991 she was kidnapped from her neighborhood and held in the backyard of her captor's home. she gave birth to two daughters during her captivity. >>> half a dozen bay area newspapers will become just two publications. four east bay papers, including the contra costa times, will become the east bay times. in silicon valley, san jose mercury news will become the america news. >>> a driver hit and killed a mountain lion in sonoma county. these pictures are from the fire department there. here's the strange part. no driver was at the scene, but officials say part of the vehicle was found in the roadway. >>> santa clara county deputies are raising money to pay the medical bills of this dog named charlie. it was hit by a train last night. deputies have set up a go fund me page and we have a link on our website, abc7news.com. >>> we'll be going to legendary -- but only if performed by middle and high school students. here's education reporter lyanne melendez. >> reporter: school of rock the

they see the animals that they have held captive and think those animals are behaving normally, when they're not, so they may believe that they're helping these animals, but they're not. they're now doomed to impoverished lives in captivity where they're splitting up families when there were other alternatives for those elephants. >> you are a friend of the lawsuit in this case. one of the thing that jumped out was this language, if the zoos succeed, they will be removing more than one third of all the remaining elephants in swaziland, leaving behind 21 with that how much of this is on the shoulders of the government? >> oh, a lot. the government of swaziland or the country has no business i think having elephants if they don't have space for them or if they're going to cram them into a small area. there is more space available or elephants in other parts of africa and in swaziland. those elephants were or fans from a cull in southern africa and they didn't have business taking them if they weren't able to care for them. this is the second time that they are shipping elephants off to

his statements were made while he's still in captivity. khweis claimed he tried to leave isis from where he was stationed in the iraqi city of mosul and surrendered to kurdish forces. >> i didn't really support their ideology, and at that point, that's when i decided i needed to escape. i wanted to go back to america. my message to the american people is the life in mosul, it's really, really bad. >> reporter: khweis said he realized his mistake in joining isis. u.s. officials say the group is having trouble keeping its recruits and that khweis could be of intelligence value. lester. >> it's amazing to see him speaking so openly. richard, thank you very much. >>> president obama's nominee for the supreme court, merrick garland, made his first visit to capitol hill today, hoping to meet with as many senators as he can, but he's had no meetings with republicans yet. though some now say they're open to the idea. but the gop appears to be standing firm on denying him a vote. nbc's pete williams went to get answers on the hill. >> reporter: the

opposition to killer whale captivity exists before "blackfish." combined with the reach of cnn turned protest into a movement. after it first aired seaworld's attendance and stock price declined. the company refused our multiple requests for an interview. then in a major about-face, this week, seaworld announced it will end its killer whale breeding program immediately, and phase out its orca thee at trachal shows. in a statement the ceo said the killer whale issue is a growing reason why many people don't visit seaworld and this is about the best thing for our orcas, or guests, our ambassadors and our company. first time viewers will feel the film's power. if you've seen it before, this time will remind you of what it was that made "blackfish" on cnn such a catalyst for change. >>> fire rescue. >> ah -- 6600 sea harbor drive. seaworld stadium. >> okay. >> we actually have a rainer in the water with one of our whales. the whale that they're not supposed to be in the water with. >> okay. we'll get somebody en route. >> gate 3. seaworld stadium. >>

. >> it can't be a good thing, keeping the animal of that size in captivity. >> mixed reaction of a huge decision, announced by sea world today. >> it's sad the next generation won't be able to see the orcas, like we did. >> the company announcing three orcas in captivity. they say it's time to get back to the basics, and for them, caring for animals. >> 20 year adversaries, who are coming together to focus on animal well being. sea world is committing over $50 million in an effort to be the leading rescue organization in the world. >> we love our whales, and so do many of the visitors at sea world, but we also know that whales is a growing concern for many people. >> currently 29 orcas live in captivities at sea world parks. one of which is pregnant. and the shows phased out, the families will continue to be entertained in the park, focusing on education and fun. >> the 800 specieses, and rides it's about a direction, it's about as -- let's as 20 million guests, 20,000 employees, let's be an army of people making the world better. >> and peta is making an announcement today in response,

the park said that won't happen because the whales would likely die once out of captive ity captivity. that is coming up at 7:00 after the morning news. >> we are continuing to follow breaking news in lake county. one person is dead following a house fire in miniola. this is what it looked like when firefighters got there. you can see how intense the flames were. this happened near u.s. 27. it is where we find mark lehman. is there anyup date on what caused this and what happened? >> i asked investigators about that. they say it is early on in their investigation. they are still piecing hinges after what became a house fire last night. show you. these pictures were taken by a neighbor. they show the large scale of the fire. that orange glow is the home engulfed in flames. inside. the efforts were not enough to save the victim. the person was pronounced dead ot scene. officials are calling on the community for support. in a statement, the city manager said now is the time to come together and pour out our love to the community. donate what we can to help them in their need. the donatio

held captive for months... we'll talk about how she escaped ... and what's ahead as the victim adjusts to her new freedom. just when you think the race couldn't get nastier. verbal punches and bickering set the tone for the 11 th gop debate. from insults...to vows to support whoever wins - we break down the biggest takeaways. i'm taking you on the road... to university hills.... to show us what makes this area of >>> today i'm taking you on the road to university health to show you what makes this part cultural activity. happy friday. isn't it nice. >> meteorologist marty coniglio is join us. marty, you're going to make everyone happy this weekend. >> well, i really enjoyed the weekend. it's going to be quite dry. on the way home from work today, might actually run into light rain. we have a few clouds over the area now. good air quality. moderate, no wood burning restrictions for you. high clouds here. already in the 40s here. 20s and 30s over the plains. we're going to have a weak front move in from the east during the day today. that's going to

the e news follows increasing controversy of keeping the whales in captivity. candace mccowan joins us with the latest. >> reporter: lawmakers are praising this move this afternoon. it is no secret their earnings have suffered. the ceo is now ending the practice of keeping the whales in the parks and joining forces with an organization that has been their critic. they are t the hallmark of sea world, but in 2019, the killer whale shows of sea world orlando will come to a close. the massive shift in direction comes after years of targeting from animal rights activists. the debate peaked after the the documentary blackfish about the whale tilicum who killed his trainer. he is ill and expected to die soon. >> society's attitude toward these very, very large, very majestic animals being under human care has shifted. and a variety of reasons. whether it is the film, legislation, people's comments on internet. it was just clear to me that we needed to o remove this barrier. >> reporter: the 29 whales already in captivity at sea world's parks including seven in orland

most importantly an end to captive breeding programs that will end captivity once and for all. 17 years as a state and local legislature is that good policy making sometimes takes time. so even though that first attempt to get a law passed on orca issues was not successful, i continued to educate myself and advocate to others with the goal of introducing new legislation in the current term. amidst the public debate that followed for the next two years to support ending orca captivity only grew. online petitions gained a million supporters. organizations pledged their endorsement and congress introduced a similar bill leading publications such as the los angeles times and washington and the san diego union acknowledged orca captivity needed change. in december as the time for introducing new legislation grew closer, i took note of a number of changes that had taken place at seaworld and around the issue including an important decision as the california coastal commission had the hiring of a new ceo at sea world who might be up for a new conversation. i took it upon myself to write a priv

the last generation of orcas sea world will display in captivity. >> the reason we with eneed to do it now is society is changing. if you look at people's general comfort level with orcas under human care, i've seen a real shift in society. >> reporter: that shift picked up momentum after the critical documentary black fish. citeding the mistreatment of orcas and the death of trainer dawn branchers revenue sea world partnered with the humane society to find a solution. >> the real priority has been no animalsom the wild into sea world. no new captive breeding, bringing in additional animals to the population. >> reporte to today's announcement, pita said it's not enough. >> we are pushing for orcas to coastalnctuaries, so they can live out some semblance of a natural life for the rest of their days. >> reporter: last year decided to end the killer whale shows, for a more natural setting for the orcas. once the pride of sea world, the parks are now saying good-bye to the whales that made it famous. and the show millions came to see. sea world says it won't release its whales into the wi

. >> still captivating people. >> and that's what's making news in ame rica this morning. >> stay tuned for "good morning america." have a great wednesday, right now on eyewitness news this morning orlando police are collecting evidence after reports of gunfire downtown. we are asking investigators what they know about the people who opened fire. >> winner of the florida primary will be the nominee of the republican party. >> and how primary results are bringing pressure on candidates florida. >>> good morning. 9. >> we check weather and traffic every 10 minutes. commute. getting over to certified >> it is what it is. as the take it to the day warm nice day, 83 degrees warmer than yesterday, yesterday we hit 80. a few degrees warmer than that, partly cloudy still a breezy day and the outlook this morning. night, 50s and 60s, close to 70 brevard county, 66 kissimmee, 63 in orlando dropping 259 deland in volusia county and 60 in daytona beach and palm coast. satellite radar picture, scattered clouds and clear checking in on visibility, dry this morning and looking good this morning with v

while many animal activist group that his condition might have stemmed from his captivity, we reached out to experts to find out how susceptible the whales are to the disease in the wild. we have yet to hear back from them. but it is the declining health of "tilikum" that is disturbing for many. >> i also reach earth's does -- i researched how long the orca lives in the well. and the average life expectancy is 35 years. which is how old "tilikum" is. they say it is only because of the medication and treatment that he has lived for this long. >> we did reach out to seaworld to see if "tilikum" would be replaced by another wild orca. they said he would not. we will continue to check on the condition of "tilikum" and let you know any updates that come our way. >>> we know the hiv-positive man accused of sexually assaulting a teenager knew his alleged victim. we told you 24-year-old richie smith junior is being held without bond after being picked up on a warrant. investigators say the sex assault molestation happened back in november. newly released documents show that he frequently stay

the news following increasing criticism of keeping the whales and captivity. we are joined outside the park by amanda ober. amanda: it is no secret that seaworld' s earnings and attendance have struggled in recent years. the new ceo is not only phasing program, but he also announced an alliance with an organization that has long been one of seaworld' s greatest critics. they are the hallmark of seaworld, but in 2019, the killer whale shows at seaworld, orlando will come to a close, and starting immediately, seaworld will no longer brady killer whale' s. the massive shift in direction comes after years of targeting by animal rights activists. this hit a peak after the documentary, blackfish, told the story of tilicum killing a trainer. tilicum is ill and is expected to die. they are responding to the huge pressures. >> the society hasn' t shifted for a variety of reasons, film on the internet, it was just clear to me that we needed to remove this barrier. amanda: b-29 whales in captivity include seven in orlando, they will lift the remaining lives in the parks,

, in sea world's care. one is pregnant, and she'll live in captivity with its family. to prevent the future procreation, they were put on birth control. fox 35 news. >>> sea world's decision to stop breethd whales is -- breeding whales is getting a lot of attention on social media. peta, sending out this tweet, thanks to all the protesters who wrote a letter, commented or did anything to make this victory happen. let's celebrate today, but we urge everyone to campaign, until all sea world animals are free. they need to open the tanks, so they have a semblance of a life outside the prison tappings. -- tanks, sea world wants to keep the tanks, and they're taking steps to make them larger. the best place for them is at sea world, no whale born under human care has been released successfully. they'll not be released to the ocean, they could not survive in oceans to compete with food or deal with environmental concerns, including pollution, and other manmade threats. >>> he beat the odds, and now the local comedian is bringing smiles and laughter to others. >> it takes a lot to get on the

i wanted to find out if the infection had anything to do with the whale spending decades in captivity. i could not find an expert to comment. tilikum made national headlines nearly 6 years ago when it killed trainer dawn brancheau. he was also involved in two other deaths going back to 1991 the documentary blackfish. >>> we will stay in touch with the world overnight and will bring you updates on the condition on eyewitness news. this starts at 5 am. mike manzoni, channel 9, eyewitness news. >>> we just checked in a homeless sex offender is still behind bars after woman caught him naked and performing a sex act outside an apartment day. sheriff's deputies reported to kensington cottage and found it a nine-year-old julius cooper in the act. she'd never seen him before but he is registered as living at a car wash half a mile away. >> we don't even know who we are living by these days. >> he could be a predator or anything. >> they have classified cooper is a high risk offender he is charged with exposing himself and sanitary nuisance. he faced similar charges and was acquitted and was c

as for the 29 killer whales now in captivity... that's where they'll stay.sea world says it's for their own safety.the company is now building them... larger, more natural orca enclosures for guests to observe... with a message of conservation.sot -- joel manby, ceo seaworld // "the best place for them is at seaworld. no whale born under human care has been released successfully." ((on camera tag))seaworld's current theatrical orca shows will end here in california next year... its parks in texas and florida will follow suit in 2019. brandi hitt -- abc news -- los angeles. tickets to reds opening day go on sale this saturday morning. morning.fans can start getting in line outside great american ball park at nine o-clock tomorrow morning.that's 24 hours before the ticket office even opens!you may laugh - but camping out for opening day event for die hard reds fans. there are 750 ticket packages for sale... each cost 75

the company also faced regulatory and legislative efforts to ban orca captivity. and ticket sales to the parks have dropped significantly. and we're joined now by the man who made today's announcement: sea world c.e.o. and president, joel manby. and by wayne pacelle, c.e.o. of the humane society of the united states, a longtime critic of sea world that worked with it on the new reform measures. welcome to both of you. joel manby, let me start with you. is this an acknowledgment that raising and using the whales for public exhibition has been wrong? >> jeffrey, what's really clear to me, i've been c.e.o. for about 11 months now, is that society has shifted. and people's view of having these majestic, very large animals under human care has changed over time. and more and more people are becoming uncomfortable with it. i had to make some difficult decisions to move the company forward, and i felt that the right thing to do for the company and all things considered is to end our breeding program. >> brown: the right thing to do for the company, so should it be seen m

pulling up video of orcas in captivity.world made the announcement that it would replace the theatrical shows with inspiring entertainment shows as part of the ongoing commitment to education, science, research, and of course the rescue of marine animals. now, the humane society of the united states, which did work with seaworld very hard on these new policies, praised its reforms as a major step towards a humane economy in which corporations do respond to public concerns over welfare, animal welfare rather. now, that takes us to the 2013 documentary "blackfish," which did argue that killer whales become more aggressive to humans and each other when in captivity. now, also if you do recall, november is when the parks announced these orca shows would phase out starting in san diego next year, and then san antonio and orlando in 2019. coming back out live, you know, also the ceo of seaworld says that he has had a lot of people saying, why don't you just release these whales into the oceans since you are already phasing out th

people did not approve of the continued captivity of these whales. they didn't approve of how they were being exhibited. >> reporter: now, the orcas will still be on display at seaworld parks, such as this one here in san diego, but in what the company calls more natural orca encounters. scott, seaworld made a lot of money selling orcas to theme parks around the world, something say they say won't do anymore. >> pelley: ben, thanks. the chairman of the board's son became a singer. at 19 he was kidnapped and returned after his father paid the ransom. he went on to become the keeper of his father's flame. frank sinatra jr. died of a heart attack yesterday. he was 72. and we'll be right back. or adempas for pulmonary hypertension, p as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision

remember those slors hel captive bybyran? mingngp, the inveation has wrapped ababt whapped befofo they wereaptured. we'll tell you inin st a few minutes. but first, a a w reportheds light on iaiacancer sndtl ier. doctors want t memetonow ririt after th break. you're watching kktv 11 news with dianne derb d d ward, chchch memeorologist brian bledede and sam farnsworthith sportsthih out 20 thousand won are diagsed with oriancer@y year mpny d sin the dease is@ pickededp at late stes. now a new report is shedding light onow doctors s ghghbe able e catch lier a a treat it better. te okitaas s s. . hollywscptter dana baratta brings chactettoto fefen t-v,ut now she's n story y her ttle wit advanced stage ovavaan cancer. dana "it is incredibly frightening. it knocks y/u off your feet t a w report says ovian n ncer is not just one didiase but rathififrereypes o ocancs thth u ually startn the e erus or r rlopopn tubes.. dr bh the ovy itself isuch a fertile e ea for t cls to implt with lots of blood veels annutrients that they don actua