On today’s episode of The Confluence:
Funeral shooting investigation is ongoing
(0:00 - 4:52)
On Friday, five people were shot and one other person was injured outside the Destiny of Faith church in Brighton Heights where a funeral was happening for a man who was also a gunshot wound victim.
The five wounded were treated at Allegheny General Hospital where, as last Friday afternoon, they remain stable. The sixth person injured was taken to UPMC’s Children’s Hospital where their condition remains unknown.
Jillian Forstadt, a reporter with WESA, says despite the shooting, Destiny of Faith held its Harvest Festival Saturday.
“Kids were in one room having fun, participating in activities while adults were in another room with the mayor talking about some of the events of the week, as well as why gun violence has become so predominant throughout the community in Pittsburgh,” says Forstadt. “It was somber.”
Police have arrested two suspects, Hezekiah Nixon, 16, of the North Side, and Shawn Davis, 19, of McKees Rocks. Both were arraigned Saturday on charges of criminal attempt-homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, aggravated cruelty to an animal and firearms offenses. Davis also is charged with two counts of conspiracy. Nixon is being charged as an adult.
Argo AI is shuttering, so where does the future of robotics development in the region stand?
(5:00 - 13:23)
Last week, Pittsburgh-based self-driving technology company Argo AI announced it would shut down. The company announced 679 employees will lose their jobs at the end of the year. Argo AI’s two biggest investors, Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG, will absorb part of the company and some of its employees.
Matthew Johnson-Roberson, director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute, says despite the setback, it's normal for industries to consolidate in order to create stronger ideas.
“Consolidation really represents the fact that the cost of capital for an independent player in this market is really, really high,” says Johnson-Roberson. “You see most of this work being underwritten by really big companies that have much lower cost of capital than, say, a new and independent startup.”
Johnson-Roberson says autonomous vehicles aren’t the only technology underway. He says the Robotics Institute is also researching the metaverse, how people interact with robots in virtual environments, medical robots and startups in agriculture. He also mentioned that Ph.D. and master’s degree candidate students, who worked with Argo AI, will still be able to continue their research funded by the Institute.
Cases of respiratory viruses rising at Children's Hospital
(13:33 - 22:30)
At UPMC’s Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, emergency room wait times have increased over the last few weeks. These increased wait times are due to a nationwide spike in respiratory illnesses including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
RSV is a common virus that can cause cold-like symptoms among older children and adults. However, it can be serious for infants and older people. Most RSV infections occur in late fall and winter but this year, doctors have reported cases as early as the summer.
Dr. Raymond Pitetti, director of the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Children’s Hospital, says the hospital’s volume has “increased dramatically” over the last six weeks. In some cases, wait times have doubled from two to four hours.
“While we were masking for COVID, we were seeing the other viruses that we would typically see every year, their rates plummeted,” says Pitetti. “Now, as society starts to get back into sort of a new normal, kids are out there being exposed to each other, getting these viruses. They have no natural immunity to the virus, so we're starting to see more and more and more kids get sick.”
Pitetti says people should continue practicing good hygiene, including washing hands, masking in public space, and staying home and taking care of oneself if you’re sick.
The Confluence, where the news comes together, is 90.5 WESA’s daily news program. Tune in Monday to Thursday at 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. to hear newsmakers and innovators take an in-depth look at stories important to the Pittsburgh region. Find more episodes of The Confluence here or wherever you get your podcasts.
