1 dead, 2 missing after explosion at US Steel plant in Pennsylvania
Allegheny County Emergency Services and Allegheny County Police said in a release that two people are currently unaccounted for, while several others have been injured. They also confirmed that one person died as a result of the explosion.
The Allegheny County Health Department said that out of an "abundance of caution," residents living within a mile of the plant should remain inside, close windows and doors, and set their HVAC systems to recirculate.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro wrote on X that the scene remained active. "Please join Lori and me in praying for the Clairton community," he wrote.
Democratic Sen. John Fetterman wrote on X that he had traveled to the plant and that there's an "active search and rescue underway" with "dozens injured" in the blast.
"Keeping those injured and all who are impacted in my thoughts right now," Fetterman wrote in a separate post.
This isn't the first major incident at the plant. In 2018, a fire on Christmas Eve caused significant damage to the facility, resulting in the release of sulfur dioxide for months afterward, and a 2010 explosion at the plant injured 20 workers.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Hill
27 minutes ago
- The Hill
Cornyn asks DOJ to probe groups tied to O'Rourke, others in Texas fight
Sen. John Cornyn (D-Texas) is asking the Justice Department (DOJ) to investigate groups —including former Rep. Beto O'Rourke's (D) Powered by People — that have allegedly helped fund Texas Democrats who fled the state to stall a GOP mid-decade redistricting plan. 'I write to encourage the Department of Justice to open an investigation into potential violations of federal law committed by the Political Action Committees and special interest groups providing funding and assistance to members of the Texas House of Representatives who absconded from the state and violated their duties to the citizens of Texas,' Cornyn wrote in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi. 'I write today to encourage an investigation of the entities funding this charade. News reports make clear that PACs tied to Beto O'Rourke and megadonors such as George Soros are supporting the legislators, along with other campaign entities,' he continued. 'These outside groups appear to be acting in violation of federal public corruption and election laws.' More than 50 Texas state legislators left the Lone Star State earlier this month to break quorum, depriving the state House of the numbers it needs to move forward with a redistricting plan backed by President Trump. The proposal, which passed through the state Senate on Tuesday, would net Republicans five additional House seats and has triggered redistricting talks in other states on both sides of the aisle ahead of the 2026 midterms. Cornyn in his letter called out O'Rourke, alleging that his political group funded 'luxurious private jets' for the quorum-breaking lawmakers, along with food, lodging and logistical support from other groups. The latest move from the senator follows his recent call for the FBI to help track down quorum-breakers, comes as he seeks to fend off a conservative primary challenge from Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) in next year's election. Recent polling has shown Cornyn trailing Paxton, in some cases by double digits, though his team is projecting optimism that they'll be able to fend off the challenge. Paxton has also swung at O'Rourke and his group, which he's claimed engaged in unlawful fundraising activity to help the Democratic state lawmakers. He was granted a temporary restraining order last week, and is now seeking O'Rourke's arrest as he alleges that the order was violated. Meanwhile, Texas Democrats are trying to wait out the ongoing 30-day special session as their absence puts a pause on advancing the new Congressional map, but Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has said he planned to call another immediately afterward. The venture comes with hefty expenses. In addition to the costs of living away from their homes in Texas, the participating Democrats each face $500-a-day fines, along with the threat of arrest and removal from their seats. California's Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has pledged to redraw the Golden State's congressional maps in a move that could counter Texas's gains with five additional Democratic House seats, depending on whether Republicans move forward with redistricting.

Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
‘No parent should have to go through this.' Mother of slain UMass student backs Trump's federal takeover of D.C. police.
'My son was murdered,' his mother said. 'I can never see him again. I can never talk to him again. I just stare at his ashes, at his picture ... No parent should have to go through this, or any family. And that's the goal— I don't want another kid to be shot or killed.' Tarpinian-Jachym's intensely personal goal coincides with Advertisement 'I think he understands how bad it is,' she said of Trump, adding that she does not believe he is using her son's death for political purposes. 'This is our nation's capital, and I have to agree with [Trump], it should be the safest place in the country, the cleanest place in the country, and safe for everybody in America or anybody from all over the world to come visit.' Advertisement Tarpinian-Jachym stressed that her goal is improved public safety and said that she and her husband, a retired postal worker, are both registered as independents. She said she was drawn to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s brief pursuit of the Democratic presidential nomination and has not been a MAGA supporter. A retired occupational therapist who practiced for many years in Springfield and Holyoke, Tarpinian-Jachym noted that Trump has indicated the federal takeover will be short-term. The deployment of National Guard troops should be given a chance to help local police, she said. Eric Tarpinian-Jachym grew up in Granby, about 15 miles north of Springfield, where he graduated from Pope Francis Preparatory School. He was seeking a degree in finance with a minor in political science at UMass Amherst. While her son wound up interning for a Republican, Ron Estes of Kansas, he was politically independent, she said. 'He was not this staunch Trumpster, like people are trying to make him out. He's an independent voter in Massachusetts, like all of us are,' she said. 'He was an independent, and he went to [Washington] to go and learn from both sides of the aisle.' Compounding the family's grief is the long, painful road Eric traveled in recent years. From 2020 until last year, he faced a number of health challenges — his mother declined to be specific — that required multiple surgeries, long and difficult rehabilitation, and accommodations at college when health problems derailed his class schedule. 'It was four years of hell' that included long stays at Boston's Children Hospital, his mother recalled. Advertisement But by January, his health had improved and Eric was 'The poor kid was having a good run for six months without being in a hospital, without complaining about pain,' she said. 'And on day 30 — he was there 30 days to the day — he got shot on that street and died the next day. That's why I am so angry." Around 10:30 p.m. on June 30, multiple people got out of a car at the intersection of 7th and M Street and began firing at a group of people, police said. Tarpinian-Jachym, a 16-year-old boy, and a woman were shot. Police believe the 16-year-old may have been the target and that Tarpinian-Jachym was an innocent bystander. A black Acura police believe was used in the shooting was later recovered, officials said. No arrests have been made and police have Tamara Tarpinian-Jachym said police have not returned any of her son's effects, including his phone that she keeps texting. 'Hopefully the case will be solved,' she said. Her son loved fishing, she recalled, especially with his father. In late May, they went to Block Island together and had an excellent day catching and releasing stripers. Advertisement Her husband worked part-time at the dining hall at Amherst College and would meet Eric for coffee at 4 p.m. in town nearly every day, she said. Those fishing trips, the meetings over coffee, and so much more are now gone, she said. 'Homicide is the worst thing a parent can experience, and my heart goes out to all parents of homicide victims,' she said. 'I wish it was me. My husband wishes it was him. So he could have lived his life." John R. Ellement can be reached at


The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
DC police support Trump's federal takeover — are Dems and the media clueless on crime?
National Democratic politicians and mainstream media commentators have spent the last 24 hours blasting President Donald Trump for announcing a federal takeover of Washington, D.C., police. For liberal and progressive critics of the president, this is undoubtedly yet more evidence of his authoritarian tendencies. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for instance, condemned the president's move as a deliberate distraction from his incompetence and accused him of hypocrisy because his failure to deploy the National Guard four years ago is what contributed to January 6 th — even though former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund has repeatedly clarified that Pelosi herself was the person responsible for failing to enlist the guard. And on CNN, Abby Phillip described Trump's takeover of the police as akin to Batman coming to save Gotham, as if that's a bad thing? I don't know about you, but I'm sold! Now in all seriousness, there's plenty of reason to be generally suspicious of getting the feds more involved in local issues, so I understand a certain level of reflexive distrust at what Trump is doing here. I also think it's important to tell the truth and be mindful of the facts, not feelings. Just because D.C. feels unsafe to some people doesn't necessarily mean that it is. We should be mindful of statistics that show that crime in the nation's capital has thankfully gone down since 2023, although let's add a little asterisk to that — I'll circle back in a minute. All that said, whether crime is technically down or technically up, it's crystal clear that Washington, D.C., has too much crime, from gangland shootings to mentally ill people attacking pedestrians to flash mobs of teenagers stealing cars and vandalizing convenience stores. That's why I find it very, very interesting that, at the local level, the relevant political authorities are not echoing the comments by national Democrats and the media. Consider, for instance, the stance of Muriel Bowser, D.C.'s incumbent Democratic mayor. Bowser issued a face-saving statement that the federal takeover was 'unprecedented and unsettling.' But she did not vow to fight it or to oppose it, and in fact, seems to be sending positive vibes to Trump that she wants to work with him rather than against him on this. That's because she knows city residents are tremendously frustrated with what's happening in the district, and more police could make a difference. Moreover, D.C.'s police union straightforwardly supports Trump on this, though the union thinks full staffing of the local police department is more important as a long-term solution. Indeed, the things that would really go a long way toward solving the crime problem in D.C. have to do with budgeting, staffing and government competence. The major problem — the single biggest problem impacting the justice system in D.C. — is the lack of a working crime lab. D.C.'s forensics lab was de-accredited due to various problems several years back, and while it's now up and running again, it has no means of processing ballistics evidence. That significantly hampers the ability of prosecutors to charge criminals effectively. As a result, D.C. has a very low prosecution rate, and a very low conviction rate, for serious crime. We need more resources for homicide detectives and prosecutors, and also we need the backlog of superior court judges to be addressed. If you don't have the system working to investigate, prosecute and convict criminals, you will have more crime. It's that simple. Now let's return to that asterisk: It may not be the case that D.C.'s crime statistics are even accurate. I'll let former Rep. Peter Meijer make the case: 'I think Mayor Bowser may also know that there's an ongoing investigation in her police department over the potentially manipulation of those statistics, that there have been a down classing of some of the crimes. There has been a massaging of the numbers in the reporting in order to fit them more beneficially into the FBI crime stats,' said the Michigan Republican. 'So, she may know some things that national Democrats are not paying attention to.' Food for thought.