The school shooting in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 dead catalyzed a series of actions this week as Dick's Sporting Goods, WalMart, L.L. Bean, REI and Kroger joined the growing chorus of companies restricting weapon sales or rescinding NRA member perks and discounts. Republican President Donald Trump called on lawmakers to act, but is there appetite for substantive change? And what should we know about the rifle at the center of this latest debate?
90.5 WESA legal analyst David Harris joins journalists Ben Schmitt of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, John Hayes of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Laura Olson with the Allentown Morning Call to weigh in.
Coming up next...
Dwindling state funding contributions have top administrators at the University of Pittsburgh weighing whether becoming a private university is financially feasible. The Post-Gazette's Bill Schackner and Debra Erdley of the Greensburg Tribune-Review explain how students and the commonwealth might be affected.
And later in the program...
This winter marked the 50th anniversary of the Tet offensive, one of the largest military campaigns carried out during the Vietnam War when the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong carried out a series of surprise attacks against the South Vietnamese and U.S. troops.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Reporter Diana Nelson Jones and photographer Nate Guidry accompanied a group of Vietnam veterans to the coastal nation last month, yielding a series of stories and images dubbed "Dispatches from Vietnam."
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.
