Pittsburgh sports teams are at the center of the debate over protests during the national anthem. Last Sunday, as football teams across the country kneeled or raised a fist in protest, the Steelers waited off field while the national anthem was played in Chicago.
While most of the team stood inside the tunnel at Soldier Field, Steelers offensive lineman Alejandro Villanueva, a former Army Ranger, stood in sight of the field, several feet ahead of his teammates, leading some to criticize the team for their divided action. The move followed President Donald Trump's suggestion that NFL owners fire players who kneel for the national anthem.
Despite reactions in Pittsburgh, the Penguins announced that they would still accept their invitation to the White House to celebrate their Stanley Cup win. Sean Gentille from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and WESA's Virginia Alvino Young discuss the intersection of sports and politics, and how people in Pittsburgh are responding.
Next on the show:
The CEO of Equifax has stepped down after a massive data breach left the personal information of as many as 143 million Americans vulnerable. Attorney General Josh Shapiro said that number includes 5.4 million Pennsylvanians, “about 75 percent of the adult population.”
According to Shapiro, under Pennsylvania law, companies must inform the public of such incidents in a “reasonable" timeframe. But the time lag between when Equifax discovered the massive data breach and when it notified the public might be longer than the six weeks, company officials have acknowledged—longer than is "reasonable."
Here to discuss what you can do to protect yourself and what's ahead for credit rating agencies are Patricia Sabatini from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Renae Merle from the Washington Post.
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This week marks the 10th anniversary of the installation of David Zubik as Bishop of the six county Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. The milestone comes amidst changes to the religious landscape in the region. Catholic grade schools are already consolidating by region, and major mergers of almost every parish in the six county diocese are expected to begin. Is this indicative of a religious decline in western Pennsylvania?
Joining us to look back at the Bishop's tenure and talk about what's to come are Peter Smith, religion reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Ann Rodgers, general manager of the Pittsburgh Catholic, the weekly newspaper published by the diocese.
The Confluence, where the news comes together, is 90.5 WESA’s weekly news program. Each week, reporters, editors and storytellers join veteran journalist and host Kevin Gavin to take an in-depth look at stories important to the Pittsburgh region.
Find more episodes of The Confluence here.
