West Virginia
Cleveland-Cliffs to shutter West Virginia tin plant and lay off 900 after tariff ruling
By JOHN RABY (Associated Press)
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Cleveland-Cliffs announced Thursday that it is shutting down a northern West Virginia tin production facility indefinitely and plans to lay off 900 workers after the International Trade Commission voted against imposing tariffs on tin imports.
The trade commission ruled earlier this year that no anti-dumping and countervailing duties will be imposed on tin products from Canada, China and Germany because those imports do not sufficiently harm the U.S. steel industry. The U.S. Department of Commerce had determined those products were sold in the United States at less than fair value and subsidized by the Chinese government.
The trade commission also voted to stop a duty investigation into tin products shipped from South Korea.
Anti-dumping and countervailing duties are levied against foreign governments that subsidize products so they can be sold below cost.
Cleveland-Cliffs said it will offer either severance packages or opportunities for workers in Weirton to be relocated to its other facilities. The Cleveland-based company employs 28,000 workers in the United States and Canada.
Weirton is a city of 19,000 residents along the Ohio River about 40 miles west of Pittsburgh.
Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said the company and the United Steelworkers union “fought tirelessly” to keep the Weirton plant open.
“In what was our final effort to maintain tinplate production here in America, we proved that we are forced to operate on an uneven playing field, and that the deck was stacked in favor of the importers,” Goncalves said in a statement. The trade commission ruling was shocking and made it “impossible for us to viably produce tinplate.”
Goncalves added that the trade commission’s decision “is a travesty for America, middle-class jobs, and our critical food supply chains. This bad outcome requires better and stronger trade laws. We will continue to work tirelessly with our Congressional champions who fought with us in this case to improve the trade laws so that the American industry and our workers are not left behind.”
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said the trade commission turned “a blind eye” to Cleveland-Cliffs workers.
The plant’s closing “is an absolute injustice not only to American workers, but to the very principle of fair competition, and it will undoubtedly weaken our economic and national security,” Manchin said.
The announcement is the latest blow for the steel industry in West Virginia’s northern panhandle. In 2022, Cleveland-Cliffs announced the closing of a coke-making facility that employed about 280 workers in Follansbee.
Cleveland-Cliffs’ tin facility in Weirton was once a nearly 800-acre property operated by Weirton Steel, which employed 6,100 workers in 1994 and filed for bankruptcy protection in 2003.
International Steel Group bought Weirton Steel in federal bankruptcy court in 2003. The property changed hands again a few years later, ultimately ending up a part of Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal, which sold its U.S. holdings to Cleveland-Cliffs in 2020.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said she was “devastated” by the Cleveland-Cliffs announcement and that the trade commission’s move to reverse the Commerce Department’s decision on tin product duties ‘remains concerning and will be examined thoroughly.”
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – Due to the weather conditions, many counties throughout West Virginia have been experiencing vehicle crashes and traffic alerts.
Dispatchers have reported the following traffic alerts to watch out for this morning.
In Mason County, U.S. Route 35 is currently shut down due to an accident involving a tractor trailer.
On I-64 Westbound between Teays Valley and Hurricane, traffic is at a standstill due to an accident. The accident occurred in a parking lot right before Culloden.
There is also a vehicle crash reported on U.S. 50 near Volcano Road. One lane is closed.
In Charleston, a two-vehicle accident near Lee Street West and Pennsylvania Avenue North has caused the lane to be blocked. No injuries were reported.
An accident at 4019 Paint Creek Rd. in Logan also occurred due to slick road conditions. No injuries were reported and the lane is currently blocked.
On Corridor G South and Kesari Drive in Alum Creek at the Lincoln County line, an accident with injuries has been reported. The lane is currently closed.
A tractor trailer rollover also occurred on 22 Mine Rd. near Woodstock Road in Logan County, dispatchers said. Dispatchers are working to get more information on the accident.
A crash involving a school bus in St. Albans has also caused a roadway near Walnut Street and Washington Avenue to close.
The right lane on I-81 Northbound near mile marker 21 is also closed due to a crash in Berkley County.
In Eleanor, a traffic advisory is in place near Charleston Road and Camelot Drive due to a two-vehicle accident with reported injuries. Route 62 is currently closed as of 6 a.m., dispatchers said.
WSAZ will continue to provide updates as we get more information from dispatchers.
Keep checking WSAZ for the latest.
Copyright 2025 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
West Virginia
National Guard member Andrew Wolfe, shot in DC, has shown positive signs, West Virginia governor says
The surviving West Virginia National Guardsman who was shot by a terror suspect near the White House is showing positive signs of recovery – but remains in critical condition, his home state’s governor said Monday.
Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, has begun flashing a thumbs up and moving his toes when asked by nurses if he can hear their questions.
“Andrew is still fighting for his life,” West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Monday. “Andrew needs prayers.”
Wolfe was rushed to a hospital in critical condition after being shot alongside 20-year-old Spc. Sarah Beckstrom while on patrol Wednesday afternoon in Washington, DC.
Beckstrom was shot in the head and chest, and later died of her wounds.
The alleged gunman, 29-year-old Afghan immigrant Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was also shot and stabbed in the altercation and remains hospitalized.
A motive for Lakanwal’s alleged attack remains unknown.
But Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem announced Sunday that the alleged killer is believed to have been radicalized after coming to the US in 2021.
Lakanwal was part of a CIA-trained outfit of Afghanistan locals who battled the Taliban during the US’ involvement in the country.
He reportedly suffered a mental breakdown over the violence he saw with the unit, but was allowed to move to the Seattle area after the US’ chaotic pullout from the Middle Eastern country in 2021.
The shooting has been deemed a terror attack, and Lakanwal has been charged with first-degree murder.
Lakanwal was subdued by two National Guardsmen who heard the gunfire and sprang into action. One was armed with nothing but a pocket knife and managed to take the alleged terrorist down, while the other shot him.
Wolfe and Beckstrom were among about 2,200 National Guard troops stationed in DC as part of the president’s crime-fighting deployment to the capital.
About 170 of them were from the West Virginia Guard, and had volunteered to stay on in November after the deployment was reduced.
Beckstrom had even volunteered for duty the day she was shot so that others could go home to be with their families for Thanksgiving.
“Our sole focus right now is looking after the well-being of the 170 service members who are on the ground, focusing on the family, assuring that prayers are going out,” Morrisey said of the remaining West Virginia troops.
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