On Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Texas GOP Chairman Abraham George kicked off a statewide tour in Fort Worth to help Representative David Cook of Mansfield win the Speaker’s gavel next week.  

Before a standing-room-only crowd at Tarrant County Republican party headquarters, Paxton and George said Cook should become Speaker because he won support from the House GOP Caucus last month over Representative Dustin Burrows of Lubbock. 

Paxton told reporters grassroots Republicans want conservatives leading the House and don’t want what he called moderate Republicans joining Democrats to select a Speaker. 

“If the Speakership is controlled by a block of Democratic votes, which it has been since Joe Straus, it prevents Republicans who are elected to get certain things done, from getting their priorities done,” he said. “And that’s been happening for the past 16 years and I think this is the first time we’ve really had the chance to expose that.”

A number of House Republicans from around North Texas joined Paxton and George in backing Cook. They also said only Republicans should serve as committee chairs, and that the old tradition of including some Democrats as committee chairs needs to end. The Texas GOP supports such a move. 

Paxton said he’s hoping veteran Republican State Representatives Charlie Geren and Giovanni Capriglione from Tarrant County and John McQueeney, an incoming Republican freshman will change their minds and back Cook over Burrows. 

Paxton told the crowd, “Go talk to Representative Giovanni. Go talk to Representative Geren and particularly talk to John McQueeney who just got elected. These guys need to listen to you.” 

Capriglione told CBS News Texas that he’s not changing his mind and remains committed to Burrows. 

In a statement, Capriglione said, “His proven leadership and unwavering commitment to our shared conservative values will ensure that the priorities of our constituents will be implemented.” 

Representative-elect McQueeney declined to comment and CBS News Texas did not hear back from Representative Geren. 

Representative Carl Tepper, a friend and supporter of Burrows, told CBS News Texas last month that Burrows is more conservative than Cook. 

“I reject the premise that it’s rebel forces of uber-conservatives trying to get control of the Texas House,” said Tepper. “It’s actually the opposite. I’m trying to get the conservative guy in to lead the House.” 

If Burrows becomes Speaker, Paxton and George warned any Republican who backs Burrows. 

“If they don’t listen, we are going to come back and primary them next session and beat them,” Paxton said.

George echoed that. 

“It is something we may end up having to do if that’s what it takes to get our House in order,” said George. 

The crowd applauded. 

During the interview last month, Tepper said he was unfazed by the threat. 

“I just don’t take my orders from the Republican Party of Texas,” he said. “I take my orders from the Republicans in the Republican primary in Lubbock County, and I take my orders from my voters here.”

Democratic State Representative Ana Maria Rodriguez Ramos is also running for Texas Speaker. Seventy-six votes are needed to win the gavel. The full Texas House votes on Jan. 14, the first day of the new legislative session.

Watch Eye On Politics 7:30 a.m. Sunday on air and streaming.

The New Year is starting with a fresh warning for those who work with animals in Texas. The state’s Parks and Wildlife Department is asking hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts to watch out for animals that may be impacted by dangerous “maneater” parasites from flies that lay eggs in open wounds, nostrils, eyes and mouths. 

The advisory, posted by the department on Dec. 30, was issued for outdoor enthusiasts in South Texas after the New World Screwworm was recently found in a cow in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas.

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the New World Screwworm has been making its way further north through the Americas. 

“As a protective measure, animal health officials ask those along the southern Texas border to monitor wildlife, livestock and pets for clinical signs of NWS and immediately report potential cases,” the department said. 

What is the New World Screwworm?

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the New World Screwworm “is a devastating pest.”

“When NWS fly larvae (maggots) burrow into the flesh of a living animal, they cause serious, often deadly damage to the animal,” the USDA says. “NWS can infest livestock, pets, wildlife, occasionally birds, and in rare cases, people.”

The Texas parks department says the maggots will lay eggs in “open wounds or orifices of live tissue such as nostrils, eyes or mouth.” Such an infestation is known as New World screwworm myiasis. 

“These eggs hatch into dangerous parasitic larvae, and the maggots burrow or screw into flesh with sharp mouth hooks. Wounds can become larger, and an infestation can often cause serious, deadly damage or death to the infected animal.” 

The scientific name for the parasite, Cochliomyia hominivorax, is roughly translated to “maneater,” according to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. 

“It is an appropriate name,” the agency added, saying that the screwworm was once prevalent in the U.S., with 230,000 cases reported just in 1935. But then scientists developed a way to release sterilized male blow flies, and since female blow flies only mate once, the agency says it “effectively removed that female and her potential offspring from the population.” 

It’s believed that the elimination of the New World Screwworm has saved U.S. agriculture workers nearly $900 million in lost livestock annually, the agency said. 

Where are New World Screwworms found?

New World Screwworms are endemic in Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and countries in South America. The USDA says that cases of the parasite, however, are also spreading north to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. 

“Although USDA eradicated NWS from the United States in 1966 using sterile insect technique, there is a constant risk of re-introduction into the United States,” the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service says. “To prevent the northward movement of this pest from South America to NWS-free areas in Central and North America, APHIS collaborates with Panama to maintain a barrier zone in eastern Panama.”

What to know about New World Screwworm Myiasis 

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says that female New World Screwworm flies are “drawn to the odor of a wound or natural opening on a live, warm-blooded animal.” There, just one fly can lay up to 300 eggs at a time, and she may lay up to 3,000 eggs during her lifetime. 

After eggs hatch, they become larvae or maggots that burrow into an opening to feed. Once they feed, they drop to the ground, burrow into the soil and emerge as adult flies. The adult flies can travel long distances, the department says, “and the movement of infested livestock or wildlife can increase the rate of spread.” 

Signs of NWS Myiasis include irritated or depressed behavior, loss of appetite, head shaking, the smell of decaying flesh, the presence of maggots in wounds and isolation from other animals or people. 

To prevent an infestation, Texas officials say to clean and cover all wounds when spending time outdoors, especially in NWS-affected areas, and to apply insect repellant to outdoor clothing. 

Associated Press

Texas A&M-CC Islanders (9-6, 2-1 Southland) at New Orleans Privateers (2-12, 0-3 Southland)

New Orleans; Monday, 7:30 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Islanders -9; over/under is 150.5

BOTTOM LINE: New Orleans hosts Texas A&M-CC after James White scored 23 points in New Orleans’ 76-64 loss to the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros.

The Privateers have gone 0-2 in home games. New Orleans averages 12.7 turnovers per game and is 0-5 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents.

The Islanders have gone 2-1 against Southland opponents. Texas A&M-CC has a 4-5 record against teams over .500.

New Orleans is shooting 38.5% from the field this season, 2.9 percentage points lower than the 41.4% Texas A&M-CC allows to opponents. Texas A&M-CC averages 6.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 4.2 fewer made shots on average than the 10.3 per game New Orleans allows.

The Privateers and Islanders match up Monday for the first time in Southland play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: White is scoring 19.4 points per game with 7.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists for the Privateers.

Owen Dease is shooting 45.5% from beyond the arc with 1.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Islanders, while averaging 9.7 points.

LAST 10 GAMES: Privateers: 1-9, averaging 65.5 points, 32.1 rebounds, 11.3 assists, 5.6 steals and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 39.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 87.4 points per game.

Islanders: 7-3, averaging 82.6 points, 35.2 rebounds, 16.1 assists, 9.3 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 52.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 62.9 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.