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At Least One Dead, Two Missing After Steel Plant Explosions; U.S. Officials Rush to Finalize Details of Trump-Putin Summit Friday; Judge Rejects DOJ Bid to unseal Ghislaine Maxwell Grand Jury Material; Officials Give Update on Deadly Pennsylvania Steel Plant Explosion. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired August 11, 2025 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:30:00]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN HOST: We're also following breaking news out of Pennsylvania. Just minutes from now, we're expecting to hear from officials after a deadly blast rocked a U.S. steel plant. At least one person has died, and two people are still missing.

For more on this, let's go right now to CNN's Jason Carroll, who's been monitoring the developments on the ground. Jason, tell us, what's the latest?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, Danny, we're just getting word from Pennsylvania's governor, who now says that there may have been multiple explosions at the Clairton Coke plant there. Again, multiple, initially heard about one explosion, but now we're hearing there may have been more than one.

Also, U.S. Steel now saying that the incident may have involved two Coke oven batteries. Again, this is a coking plant where they heat coal to high temperatures, and so now we're hearing that those two batteries may have been a factor here.

Again, dozens of people injured in this explosion, although we are hearing from health officials that many of those injuries appear to be non-life-threatening. Two people still unaccounted for, and that is why you still have emergency officials, rescue crews there still on the ground.

Residents who live within a mile or so radius of the facility are being told, out of an abundance of caution by health officials, they're being advised to remain indoors, close all their windows, so that you're not having outside air coming inside.

Again, Danny, this is an incident that began at just about 10:51 a.m. As you're looking at some of the images there from the ground, a steelworker there inside the plant says it sounded like two trains that were colliding. Folks who live nearby, one woman who was out on her porch, felt the force of the explosion. She said her house literally shook.

Again, at this point, Danny, we have one person dead, two people still unaccounted for. We are awaiting a press conference that's about to get underway just about 20 minutes or so from now -- Danny.

FREEMAN: All right, Jason, thank you. Hoping those two people are found safe and thinking of all those steelworkers today. Appreciate it, Jason.

With only four days to go, U.S. officials are now rushing to finalize details for Friday's high-stakes meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin in Alaska, though no venue has been officially announced. Another remaining question, though, will Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy be invited? That and more coming up next.

[15:35:00]

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FREEMAN: President Trump gave a preview of his historic summit that's coming up on Friday with Russia's Vladimir Putin. Trump saying unequivocally that in order to end Russia's war on Ukraine, quote, there will be land swapping. He added that Ukraine's president, quote, could go Friday, but that's still up in the air as of now.

Joining me now for more on this is CNN senior military analyst, retired admiral James Stavridis. He served as the NATO Supreme Allied Commander and is now partner at the international investment firm, the Carlyle Group. Thank you so much, Admiral, for being here with us to break this very important news down and subject for this week.

First, let's start at the top and reset here. What is the significance in your mind of a meeting with Putin on U.S. soil?

ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS (RET.), CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST: Oh, I think it's a very big deal, and I'm glad it's happening. I think that if we're going to get this situation resolved in Ukraine, it's got to start with high-level talks between the U.S. president and the Russian president. I also like the symbolism, frankly, of Putin coming to us, coming to the United States of America.

And I think it's a nice little historic irony that we got Alaska from Russia, and therefore I think it's a pretty good spot for the talks. And I'm cautiously optimistic we'll hear something that could lead toward a negotiation.

[15:40:00]

FREEMAN: So just quickly, you don't take pause at the seemingly hasty timeline that this has all put together?

STAVRIDIS: I don't. I think that these two teams of Putin and Trump are professional. I think a lot of people's August vacations got ruined. But that's why you serve.

And I think they'll put together a reasonable package for the two presidents to chew on together. Again, who knows where this is going to go, but I think at this point we ought to feel as though we're sending President Trump, who is a negotiator, into this setting and hope that he comes back with a good outcome for Ukraine, NATO, for the West, and above all, for the United States.

FREEMAN: All right, but Admiral, let's talk about, perhaps, the elephant not in the room, at least for now. NATO partners have been pushing for Zelenskyy's involvement in this meeting. President Trump asked about that earlier today. He didn't exactly rule it out, but it seemed pretty clear that at least this meeting might be just him and Putin.

Do you see a world, though, where Ukrainian President Zelenskyy agrees to an agreement that he's not at the table for?

STAVRIDIS: No, I don't think that world exists, nor should it. What ought to happen is at this meeting, President Trump and President Putin agree to a ceasefire, to freeze the fighting right where it is, no final decisions about land swaps, let's stop the fighting, let's move to the negotiating table, and I think at that point, obviously, Zelenskyy comes in. And by the way, we talk all the time about U.S., Russia, and Ukraine. There's really a fourth very important partner here, the European Union.

So the head of the EU, Ursula von der Leyen, ought to also be involved. I think you go from a bilateral to a quad conversation, that's where the negotiation should land, and hopefully we'll see at least a ceasefire and a move toward the negotiating table.

FREEMAN: Yes, it was remarkable to that point that President Trump said during the press conference, I might call the EU first, I might call Zelenskyy first. I mean, just a remarkable moment, and everyone, as you said, are paying so -- such close attention to this.

Along those lines, though, Admiral, I want your perspective here, because land swapping really has been now at the heart of what President Trump sees as an outcome, potentially, of what is being discussed right here. Zelenskyy, of course, against this, as far as we know publicly.

Is there any scenario that you see, though, where Ukraine would give up or swap any piece of land where they are in a better position than they are today?

STAVRIDIS: These are decisions for Ukrainians, but if I were advising President Zelenskyy, I'd say go into this with an open mind. If you have to give up Crimea and Donetsk and Luhansk, don't forget that 20 percent of Ukraine has been a war zone for the last three years. It's full of unexploded ordnance, destroyed infrastructure.

The rest of the country, the other 80 percent, could sail on free, democratic, a path to the European Union, eventually to NATO. That's not a terrible outcome, kind of like the end of the Korean War. My advice to President Zelenskyy would be keep an open mind.

FREEMAN: Admiral James Stavridis, thank you so much, as always, for breaking this down. I have a feeling we're going to be having a lot of conversations as we approach Friday. Appreciate it.

STAVRIDIS: Indeed.

FREEMAN: Still to come, a federal judge rejects the Trump administration's bid to unseal grand jury materials from Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking case. We have the very latest.

[15:45:00]

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Motion denied. Today, a federal judge has rejected the Trump administration's request to unseal grand jury materials from the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking case. The Justice Department pushed for the release of the grand jury transcripts in the investigations into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Maxwell, part of an effort to tamp down public outrage over the reversal by the Trump administration to make the investigative files public.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz joins us now. So, Katelyn, walk us through why this judge denied the bid to unseal the grand jury documents.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the judge looked at these documents under seal, these grand jury transcripts, a couple exhibits and said the legal reasoning the Justice Department has to release them, it's not good enough, and there's nothing in here that seems to be new. It's all out there. Ghislaine Maxwell, after the grand jury met, after she was indicted, she went to trial where much was revealed in this case. There's also been lawsuits.

The judge wrote in the 31-page opinion today, this is Judge Paul Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York, Evidence with only very minor exceptions is a matter of public record. That's what's in the grand jury transcripts.

Nada, really. Would not reveal any new information of any consequence. Next to nothing new. There is no there there.

And the judge also had a brutal undercutting of how the Justice Department went about this, essentially saying that they were being disingenuous in their bid for transparency in this case, something that they were doing as part of the public relations campaign when they were coming under attack for not being transparent around releasing Epstein files they have. They had gone to the court.

[15:50:00]

And the judge wrote, In this situation, a member of the public appreciating that the Maxwell grand jury materials do not contribute anything to public knowledge might conclude that the government's motion for their unsealing was aimed not at transparency, but at diversion -- aimed not at full disclosure but at the illusion of such. So there won't be disclosure here from the judge. There won't be the illusion of disclosure as the Justice Department wanted. This judge says no, although there is another judge overseeing some of the grand jury transcripts that were in the Epstein case itself. This was the Ghislaine Maxwell case transcripts. We're still waiting to see what that judge decides. But it's not going well for the Justice Department's bids here around making court records public in the Epstein matter.

SANCHEZ: We'll see if that judge may rule differently. Katelyn Polantz, thanks so much for the reporting.

When we come back, a meteorite that tore through the sky over the U.S. and crashed through the roof of a home this summer is older than anything on this planet. It's older than Earth itself. What else scientists found out about the space rock when we come back.

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[15:55:00]

SANCHEZ: We've been following breaking news all day after an explosion at a U.S. steel plant in Pennsylvania -- the Clairton Coke Works. Apparently, at least one person has been killed. Two others remain unaccounted for and at least two are being treated at a nearby hospital.

We understand that officials are giving a press conference. It started just moments ago, so let's listen in.

SCOTT BUCKISO, SR. VP, U.S. STEEL: We did have an incident between our 13 and 14 batteries here at the Clairton Coke facility. One explosion. Obviously, this is an active scene and still an active investigation.

You know, our employees did a great job of making sure that we went in and rescued everybody that was involved, safely shut down all of the gases and utilities, and the plant is stable. But as I said, it is still an active investigation.

Our hearts go out to our employees. Safety is our number one priority every day, every shift, 365. So obviously, this is a tragedy that we want to understand. We're under the investigation, and we will continue to work not only with the folks behind me, but the families of those that have been affected. Our hearts go out to them, our employees.

We have an employee assistance program that we have set up at the local union hall for anybody that wants to stop in and talk to anybody there as well.

I would also like to thank our U.S. Steel, EMS, and all the communities, all the surrounding communities, EMS and fire, that have come and helped in making sure that everybody got out of here as safe as possible today. Thank you.

CHIEF MATTHEW BROWN, ALLEGHENY COUNTY EMERGENCY SERVICES: Good afternoon. I'm Matt Brown, Chief of the Allegheny County Department of Emergency Services. As Mr. Buckiso had stated, about 10:50 was their initial response. Our first call to Allegheny County 911 was 10:51, so very quickly behind that. As Scott had mentioned, they have their internal departments to respond to those emergencies, and the municipal agencies, our department included, are always here to support them. It looks like from the overall response, about 20 EMS agencies have assisted at this point and about 14 fire departments.

And again, these are all external to the plant. All four divisions of my department are involved and engaged. Allegheny County 911, the fire marshal's office is here to investigate origin and cause, which were obviously very early stages of that.

Our fire training academy and our emergency management staff are all here to assist as well. And again, our role here is just to help coordinate the incident. Overall, as you can imagine, it's a very hot day.

It's very tasking to all the emergency responders, both U.S. Steel and municipal. The good news is they work together very often. A lot of times they switch different hats. Many of them are volunteers at the same department. So it is a brotherhood, sisterhood, if you will, of emergency responders who really take at the heart what they're doing right now.

Their efforts are very focused on rescue at this point. We are still engaged in the incident. It is continuing to be ongoing. I think that's about all the details I have at this moment.

Again, our focus right now is just continuing our search for one unaccounted person at this point. That's all I have. Vic Joseph.

VICTOR JOSEPH, ASST SUPERINTENDENT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY POLICE: Good afternoon. Victor Joseph, assistant superintendent, Allegheny County Police. First off, my thoughts are -- thoughts and prayers go out to the victims today, the workers here, the mill, and their families.

We were requested by Clairton Police Department for an industrial accident. We provide those investigative services to municipalities throughout the county when needed. It was an active scene. It's still an active scene. When we got here, it was a rescue mission. It's still a rescue mission. Initially, there were two unaccounted for individuals.

Within the past hour, one of those individuals was rescued. He's been transported to a local hospital, so we're happy to say that. There is one deceased, as of right now, and now a total of 10 injured.

Our department, along with the fire marshal and the ATF, will conduct the investigation.

[16:00:00]

Like I said, it's still an active scene right now, so this will be a time-consuming technical investigation that is going to take some time.

FREEMAN: And we're listening right now to an update from Allegheny County officials in western Pennsylvania. The headline, one rescued from that wreckage, one still unaccounted for, and only one deceased, 10 people injured. Amazing update right there. SANCHEZ: It's really a miracle. Given some of the pictures that we've seen of the incident there, we understand that at least two oven batteries were involved in this incident. A major explosion happening. At least one person still missing. Rescuers racing right now to find them.

Thanks so much for joining us this afternoon. "THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

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