(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.
(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.”
(NEW YORK) — Rivers continue to flow out of their banks from Texas to West Virginia where 18 states are on alert for flooding on Wednesday.
The Kentucky River and Ohio River are most at risk for major to moderate flooding to continue for the next several days as entire towns continue to be submerged under water in Kentucky where a state of emergency has been declared.
The rain, however, should stay away from the flooded region for the next several days.
A new storm system is set to move into southern California Wednesday with snow for Los Angeles and San Diego mountains. This would be the first rain in Los Angeles since January.
Locally, 6 inches of snow is possible for higher elevations north and east of Los Angeles and San Diego.
This storm will move into the southern and central Rockies by Wednesday night with heavy snow expected from northern Arizona into Utah, Colorado and northern New Mexico, and some areas could see more than 10 inches of snow by Thursday.
In the Northeast and for most of the country, it will feel like spring Wednesday with temperatures near 60 in Denver, near 70 in Kansas City, in the 50s for Chicago and New York City and near 60 in Washington, D.C.
Unfortunately, the Northeast will not keep the mild spring-like weather for the rest of the week.
The cold air will return to the Northeast by Thursday night and into Friday, with wind chills once again dropping below zero in upstate New York and New England.
(AUSTIN, Texas) — Gov. Greg Abbott ended Texas’ statewide mask mandate and announced an executive order to allow all businesses to reopen at full capacity.
“It is now time to open Texas 100%,” Abbott said at a news conference Tuesday.
“COVID has not suddenly disappeared,” he added. “But it is clear from the recoveries, from the vaccinations, from the reduced hospitalizations, and from the safe practices that Texas are using, that state mandates are no longer needed.”
Abbott’s executive order is effective March 10, overriding a previous executive order issued in October. The new order mandates that if hospitalization rates exceed 15% hospital bed capacity for seven days, county judges may use mitigation strategies in their jurisdiction, according to Abbott.
The state’s mask mandate had been in effect since July.
Abbott spent the last week teasing the announcement during press conferences and on Twitter, hinting at “exciting news.”
Health experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have cautioned against states reopening too quickly. At a White House briefing on Friday, Fauci warned against easing restrictions until the U.S. baseline average of new infections is lower.
“We have to carefully look at what happens over the next week or so with those numbers, before you start making the understandable need to relax on certain restrictions,” Fauci said. “Watch it closely, and be prepared to react according to what actually happens.”
White House senior COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt told CNN Tuesday night he hopes Abbott will rethink lifting restrictions, especially the mask mandate, though he stopped short of suggesting President Joe Biden should call the governor to ask him to change course.
“We think it’s a mistake to lift these mandate too early. Masks are saving a lot of lives,” he said. “The president has been clear about the fact that in the first 100 days of this administration, we could save 50,000 lives if we stick to this. I’m hoping that the businesses, and the community and people in Texas, the mayors, the county, will rethink this. I hope the governor rethinks this. It’s only a small piece of cloth that’s needed.”
As of Tuesday, Texas had reported 2.6 million infections and 43,918 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
During the Tuesday press conference, Abbott touted the state’s positivity rate as being “under 9%,” still nearly double the 5% threshold recommended by the World Health Organization.
In Texas, 6.8% of the population has received both doses of the vaccine, slightly lower than the national average of 7.9%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.
SETH WENIG/POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesBy MATT ZARRELL and IVAN PEREIRA, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — A third woman has alleged unwanted advances by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Anna Ruch told the New York Times Monday that Cuomo placed his hands on her face during a wedding reception in New York City in September 2019 and “asked if he could kiss her.” A photo of the alleged incident was taken and shared with the paper.
The revelation came on the same day New York Attorney General Letitia James announced her investigation into previous allegations of sexual harassment.
James’ office told ABC News Monday evening it read Ruch’s account in the Times and will decide whether to incorporate it into the just-launched investigation into the governor’s conduct.
Cuomo formally referred the case into allegations against the governor to AG, the governor’s office announced Sunday night.
This decision enables an investigation with subpoena power for the attorney general’s office.
“The Governor’s office wants a thorough and independent review that is above reproach and beyond political interference. Therefore, the Governor’s office has asked Attorney General Tish James to select a qualified private lawyer to do an independent review of allegations of sexual harassment,” Beth Garvey, special counsel and senior advisor to the governor, said in a statement Sunday night. “The lawyer shall report publicly their findings. The Governor’s office will voluntarily cooperate fully.”
James earlier Sunday rejected a proposal from Cuomo to select an independent investigator to conduct a review, she said on Sunday afternoon.
After two former aides came forward last week with accusations against Cuomo, Garvey at first announced that an independent review would be launched, led by former federal Judge Barbara Jones.
But after critics argued Jones was inadequate given her business ties to Cuomo’s top aide, Steve Cohen, the governor’s office released a statement on Sunday morning that James and the chief judge of the court of appeals, Janet DiFiore, would jointly select an “independent and qualified lawyer in private practice without political affiliation to conduct a thorough review and issue a public report.”
“We had selected former Federal Judge Barbara Jones, with a stellar record for qualifications and integrity, but we want to avoid even the perception of a lack of independence or inference of politics,” the statement said. “The work product will be solely controlled by that independent lawyer personally selected by the Attorney General and Chief Judge.”
Later on Sunday, James rejected the governor’s call for the appointment of an outside lawyer and repeated her request for a formal referral from the governor’s office so she can lead an investigation with subpoena power.
“To clarify, I do not accept the governor’s proposal. The state’s Executive Law clearly gives my office the authority to investigate this matter once the governor provides a referral. While I have deep respect for Chief Judge DiFiore, I am the duly elected attorney general and it is my responsibility to carry out this task, per Executive Law,” James said in a statement. “The governor must provide this referral so an independent investigation with subpoena power can be conducted.”
“I urge the governor to make this referral immediately,” James said.
State and U.S. senators, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and others are calling for a completely independent investigation. Some, including state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, have called for Cuomo’s resignation.
Allegations made against Cuomo
Two former aides to Cuomo made allegations of sexual harassment against the governor last week.
On Wednesday, Lindsey Boylan made claims of “sexual harassment and bullying” against the governor, saying it lasted “for years.”
In a post on Medium, Boylan described one incident aboard a flight with Cuomo, aides and a New York state trooper in October 2017 where Cuomo suggested they play “strip poker.” She also complained to friends that Cuomo “would go out of his way to touch me on my lower back, arms and legs.”
Boylan, who began working in the state office in 2015 and was later promoted to deputy secretary for economic development and special adviser to the governor, accused Cuomo of creating “a culture within his administration where sexual harassment and bullying is so pervasive, that it is not only condoned but expected.”
Months before her Medium post, Boylan, saying she was compelled to go public after seeing Cuomo’s name floated as a potential U.S. attorney general candidate, began tweeting allegations against Cuomo on Dec. 13.
“Yes, @NYGovCuomo sexually harassed me for years. Many saw it, and watched. I could never anticipate what to expect: would I be grilled on my work (which was very good) or harassed about my looks. Or would it be both in the same conversation? This was the way for years,” she tweeted.
Boylan, who is currently running for Manhattan borough president, resigned from the governor’s office in September 2018.
After Boylan’s Medium post, Cuomo’s office issued a statement denying her allegations against the governor.
“As we said before, Ms. Boylan’s claims of inappropriate behavior are quite simply false,” according to a statement from press secretary Caitlin Girouard.
The statement also denied Boylan’s allegations of what happened on the October 2017 flight.
Calls for an independent investigation and for the governor to resign have increased after a second accuser came forward with allegations against Cuomo on Saturday.
Charlotte Bennett, another former aide to Cuomo, told The New York Times that the governor harassed her last spring, including one incident on June 5, 2020, where Cuomo allegedly asked her questions about her personal life, romantic interests and stated that he was “open to relationships with women in their 20s,” the Times reported.
Bennett left Cuomo’s administration in November, she told the Times.
“I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared,” Bennett told the Times, adding that she told Cuomo’s chief of staff, Jill DesRosiers, a week after the June 5 incident and was transferred from the role of executive assistant to a health policy adviser.
Cuomo has denied the allegations but said in a statement Sunday night that some of the things he has said “have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation.”
“At work sometimes I think I am being playful and make jokes that I think are funny. I do, on occasion, tease people in what I think is a good natured way,” Cuomo’s statement said. “I do it in public and in private. You have seen me do it at briefings hundreds of times. I have teased people about their personal lives, their relationships, about getting married or not getting married. I mean no offense and only attempt to add some levity and banter to what is a very serious business.”
“I now understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments, given my position, made others feel in ways I never intended,” Cuomo’s statement said.
Cuomo released a statement after the Times story was published, calling Bennett a “hardworking and valued member of our team during COVID” but denied making any advances towards Bennett.
On Twitter, Bennett wrote “I stand with Anna Ruch. Anna — I hear you, I see you. I’m so sorry. His inappropriate and aggressive behavior cannot be justified or normalized. Thank you for your courage and strength. Here for you always.”
Cuomo said he never intended to act in any way that was inappropriate and was trying to be a supportive and helpful mentor.
“The last thing I would ever have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported,” he said.
“This situation cannot and should not be resolved in the press; I believe the best way to get to the truth is through a full and thorough outside review and I am directing all state employees to comply with that effort. I ask all New Yorkers to await the findings of the review so that they know the facts before making any judgments. I will have no further comment until the review has concluded,” he added.
Cuomo also under fire for nursing home deaths
Cuomo is also being investigated by the FBI and federal prosecutors, who are looking at the governor’s coronavirus task force, with a particular focus on his administration’s handling of nursing homes early in the coronavirus pandemic, two sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The investigation, first reported by the Albany Times Union, is in its initial stages. Subpoenas have been issued, the sources said.
The FBI has declined to comment, as did the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
The full scope of the investigation is not immediately clear, but the sources said there was a particular interest in nursing homes, which have been a source of increasing frustration for Cuomo.
The number of New York nursing home residents who died from the virus may have been undercounted by as much as 50%, according to an investigation conducted by the New York attorney general’s office, which said that many of those patients died after being moved to the hospital and were thus not counted as nursing home deaths.
Investigators asked 62 nursing homes for information about on-site and in-hospital deaths from COVID-19 beginning the week of March 1, 2020, and found significant discrepancies between those figures and the numbers reported to the Department of Health. In one instance, according to the report, a facility reported to the DOH that on-site fatalities totaled five confirmed COVID-19 deaths and six presumed COVID-19 deaths, but told the AG’s office there were actually 27 deaths at the facility and 13 hospital deaths — a discrepancy of 29 deaths.
Earlier this month, a Cuomo aide conceded the administration withheld the nursing home death toll from state lawmakers out of fear it would be used against the state by the Trump administration.
“He starts tweeting that we killed everyone in nursing homes,” Cuomo’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa, said of Trump on the conference call recording, a transcript of which was provided by DeRosa to ABC News. “He starts going after [New Jersey Gov. Phil] Murphy, starts going after [California Gov. Gavin] Newsom, starts going after [Michigan Gov.] Gretchen Whitmer. He directs the Department of Justice to do an investigation into us.”
Cuomo conceded his handling of nursing home fatality data created a “void” that became filled by misinformation and conspiracy theories — but he declined to apologize.
“The void we created by not providing information was filled with skepticism and cynicism and conspiracy theories which fueled the confusion,” Cuomo said during a news conference Monday. “The void we created disinformation and that caused more anxiety for loved ones.”
MivPiv/iStockBy ROSA SANCHEZ, ABC News
