March 4, 2021 • No Comments • National News

MivPiv/iStockBy ROSA SANCHEZ, ABC News

(WASHINGTON) — New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith has asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to investigate after at least 30 New Jersey National Guard members allegedly got sick over the last month from eating the food they were provided while deployed to protect the U.S. Capitol.

In a letter Wednesday, Smith told Pelosi that several National Guard members in various states, including New Jersey, “have become ill due to tainted and unhealthy food from a private-sector vendor.”

“Some have even reported vomiting in the Senate parking lot,” he wrote. “Alarmingly, the soldiers have noted receiving almost completely raw meat, some of which, according to press reports, even contained pieces of shaved metal.”

Smith asked that the company in charge of catering the food be dismissed and replaced with a new provider, “immediately.”

“Furthermore, the provision of this food, whether intentional or not, warrants a thorough investigation,” he wrote. “The men and women deployed here from New Jersey and elsewhere to protect the Capitol deserve meals that are absolutely safe and healthful.”

Various Michigan National Guard members guarding the Capitol were also allegedly hospitalized after eating “undercooked,” “raw” and “moldy” meals, as was alleged in a letter sent by Michigan House members to the Pentagon.

That letter also states that some meals contained “metal shavings.”

“It is completely unacceptable that our men and women serving in Washington D.C. are being hospitalized due to the food they are being provided,” the members wrote, also calling for the current food provider to be replaced.

The news comes as members of the National Guard and U.S. Capitol Police continue to keep watch over the Capitol following the Jan. 6 siege and ahead of Thursday, when Capitol police say a militia group is threatening to, again, breach the building.

Thursday, March 4, is the date that some far-right conspiracy theorists believe former President Donald Trump will return to power.

“Our Department is working with our local, state, and federal partners to stop any threats to the Capitol. We are taking the intelligence seriously. Due to the sensitive nature of this information, we cannot provide additional details at this time,” Capitol Police officials said in a statement on Twitter Wednesday.

Around 5,000 National Guard troops are currently working to protect the Capitol — both on site and around Washington, D.C, and the complex is surrounded with temporary fencing.

ABC News’ Global Affairs team has reached out to the National Guard and Pentagon for comment.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

March 3, 2021 • No Comments • National News

kali9/iStockBy EMILY SHAPIRO, ABC News

(LOS ANGELES) — The 13 people killed in a crash between their SUV and a big rig in Southern California on Tuesday are suspected to have entered the U.S. illegally that morning, breaching a fence on the U.S.-Mexico border in a likely human smuggling attempt, according to Customs and Border Patrol.

“A 10-foot breach” in a fence between the two countries was reported Tuesday morning, and agents reviewed surveillance video which showed two “vehicles leaving the area in proximity of the fence breach,” border patrol said on Wednesday.

A Ford Expedition SUV carrying 25 people collided with the big rig, ejecting many of the SUV passengers onto the road, later on Tuesday, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Twelve people, including the SUV driver, died at the scene, and another person from the SUV died at a hospital, the highway patrol said.

“All are suspected to have entered the U.S. illegally,” border patrol said.

The accident was near Holtville in Imperial County, about 125 miles east of San Diego and about 10 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.

Every survivor was injured to some extent, highway patrol said. Some suffered life-threatening head injuries, chest injuries and fractures, officials at El Centro Regional Medical Center said Tuesday.

Agents also found 19 people hiding in the brush by a red Suburban engulfed in flames and “determined they had entered the country illegally through the breach in the border fence,” border patrol said.

“We pray for the accident victims and their families during this difficult time,” El Centro Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino said in Wednesday’s statement released by border patrol.

“Human smugglers have proven time and again they have little regard for human life,” he added. “Those who may be contemplating crossing the border illegally should pause to think of the dangers that all too often end in tragedy.”

ABC News’ Alex Stone contributed to this report.

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