Even as SeaWorld and OSHA engage in settlement talks over the 2010 death of orca trainer Dawn Brancheau, the company has suffered a legal setback in its fight to keep OSHA inspectors from interviewing trainers about federally mandated safety measures before the mediation process concludes.

U.S. District Judge Roy Dalton...

SeaWorld San Diego is celebrating the birth of a killer whale on this Valentine's Day backstage at Shamu Stadium. But not everyone is delighted with the news.

Anti-captivity activists say the newborn has a hard life ahead in a grotesquely unnatural world.

The calf was delivered early...

The federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, better known as "vaccine court," has just awarded millions of dollars to two children with autism for "pain and suffering" and lifelong care of their injuries, which together could cost tens of millions of dollars.

The government did not admit that vaccines caused autism,...

SeaWorld Entertainment and its parent company The Blackstone Group just made headlines with a much-anticipated announcement of a $100 million initial public offering. And though acquiring shares in Shamu may sound like a glamorous and profitable proposition, investors should carefully consider what, exactly, their hard-earned dollars are buying.

SeaWorld is...

You probably didn't know it, but Congress recently held a major hearing on the government's response to autism, grilling two key federal officials on everything from prevalence studies to services for adults with the disorder.

But much of the nearly four-hour hearing was focused on the causes of...

For the first time in nearly two-and-a-half years since the 12,000-pound orca Tilikum brutally killed his trainer Dawn Brancheau at SeaWorld Orlando, the company is now allowing certain trainers to reenter the water with its captive killer whales, at least for veterinary and animal husbandry purposes.

The news was first...

The following video was presented at trial in SeaWorld v US Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis in the death of orca trainer Dawn Brancheau. Judge Ken Welsch, who ruled largely against the company, called the video "chilling."

SeaWorld has lost its attempt to appeal a scathing May 31 verdict from a federal law judge before the three-member Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC).

It is the third major legal defeat in a row for the marine mammal entertainment park in the death of Dawn...

• CEO of SeaWorld's Parent Company Backs Mitt Romney


• Marine Entertainment Park Sues Obama Administration


• NEW POLL: Republicans Far More Likely To Support Orca Captivity Than Democrats

There are close ties between the entertainment parks' owner, venture capital firm The Blackstone Group, and Mitt Romney's campaign. Blackstone's co-founder and...

• Plurality Is Opposed to the Practice


• 4 in 5 Agree That Shorter Lifespan Is a Convincing Reason to End Captivity


• Ending Orca Shows Would Not Affect Marine Park Attendance

A new poll just out this morning, the first-ever survey of US public opinion on...

■ Company's appeal in trainer's death could be accepted or rejected by Monday
■ OSHA will likely try to reinstate its "willful" violation against the park
■Groundbreaking poll on Monday to measure public attitudes toward orca captivity
■ Death at SeaWorld, an investigative thriller, hits bookstores on...

SeaWorld has filed an appeal to challenge parts of a federal judge's ruling which refused to overturn an OSHA violation in the death of Orlando orca trainer Dawn Brancheau. SeaWorld will also try to void government-mandated safety measures that could mean a permanent ban on having trainers...

French actress Marion Cotillard, who won the Best Actress Oscar for La Vie en Rose and will soon be seen in the summertime blockbuster, The Dark Knight Rises, is speaking out about an incident she experienced with a killer whale while filming on the set...

The debate over human trainers performing in the water with killer whales, the ocean's top predator, has reentered the national dialogue now that a judge handed down a harsh rebuke to SeaWorld after it sought to overturn a safety violation in the 2010 death of Orlando employee Dawn Brancheau.

But...

Following last week's landmark ruling against SeaWorld in the death of orca trainer Dawn Brancheau, the Obama Administration has put the entire animal entertainment industry on notice: Step-up safety measures for employees or face stiff legal and monetary sanctions.

The decision...

SeaWorld has lost its legal battle to overturn a federal safety violation in the 2010 death of Orlando orca trainer Dawn Brancheau, and was roundly defeated in its attempt to vacate OSHA-mandated measures to protect the safety of trainers working with the ocean's deadliest predator.

Administrative law judge...

My new book about killer whales in captivity -- Death at SeaWorld - does not hit stores for another five months, and already there are two online petitions (here is one) to boycott the title and urge booksellers and the media to ignore and reject the...

Last week in New York, for the first time ever in the same room, Fortune 500 Corporations, some 200 minority owned small businesses and more than 40 panel experts gathered to discuss ways to create jobs, help the environment, reduce dependency on foreign oil and assist multi-ethnic businesses to bring...

By now, most people have heard of the feature film Dolphin Tale, but there is another true dolphin story out there worth seeing, a remarkable film called The Whale.

This beautifully shot documentary tells the moving story of Luna, an infant killer whale who got separated from his family...

On Thursday, a federal judge ruled against the husband and family of Dawn Brancheau, the trainer who died in February 2010 at SeaWorld. The family had moved to seal video and photographic evidence surrounding the death of Brancheau, who was killed by the orca Tilikum in Orlando. U.S. District Court...