Texas

Texas officials warn of

Published

1 year ago

January 6, 2025

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.

Texas officials are warning people to look out for signs of the New World Screwworm, known as a “maneater” parasite.

John Kucharski, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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.

Cochliomyia hominivorax, the New World screw-worm fly, or screw-worm for short, is a species of parasitic fly that is well known for the way in which its larvae (maggots) eat the living tissue.

/ Getty Images

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.

Li Cohen

Li Cohen is a senior social media producer at CBS News. She previously wrote for amNewYork and The Seminole Tribune. She mainly covers climate, environmental and weather news.

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Texas

DPS trooper killed in Texas Panhandle crash, agency says

Published

10 hours ago

June 17, 2026

Press Room

DPS trooper killed in Texas Panhandle crash, agency says

Updated on: June 17, 2026 / 10:19 PM CDT
/ CBS Texas

A Texas state trooper was killed in a crash in the Panhandle, becoming the 244th Texas Department of Public Safety officer to die in the line of duty since 1823, according to the agency.

Sergio Romero, 27, died Wednesday after a semi-truck pulled in front of him as he attempted a traffic stop around 4 p.m. on U.S. 287 in Childress County, DPS said.

In a statement, Col. Freeman F. Martin praised Romero’s courage, integrity, and service.

“Today, we grieve the loss of one of our own,” Martin said. “… Our hearts break alongside his family, friends, fellow troopers, and all who loved him. We will never forget the ultimate sacrifice he made in service of his fellow Texans.”

Romero previously served with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office before joining DPS as part of Class B-2025 in Childress, the agency said.

He is survived by his wife, Francisca, and their two young sons.

Funeral arrangements are pending. The crash remains under investigation.

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Texas

Texas renews 3 disaster orders covering drought, flooding and border

Published

20 hours ago

June 17, 2026

Press Room

Texas renews 3 disaster orders covering drought, flooding and border

A flood disaster order for 30 counties stems from deadly storms in 2025.
Drought conditions and wildfire risks persist, keeping 111 counties under a disaster declaration.
A border security disaster, first issued in 2021, has been renewed and now covers 70 counties.

Texas is keeping more than half of its counties under a state of emergency.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott renewed three statewide disaster declarations on Tuesday, June 16 — covering flooding, drought and border security — which together place 164 of the state’s 254 counties under emergency authority.

Each of the orders, signed by Abbott and filed with Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson, authorizes the use of “all available resources of state government and of political subdivisions that are reasonably necessary to cope with this disaster.”

Here’s a look at what the proclamations are for and which counties are under them.

Flood disaster from deadly 2025 Hill Country storms holds across 30 counties

On July 4, 2025, Abbott issued a disaster declaration following heavy rainfall and flooding that caused widespread and severe property damage, injury and loss of life in several counties.

The Camp Mystic flooding, which killed 27 campers and counselors, also occurred during this time frame. The original declaration included 21 counties located in the Texas Hill Country and the Concho Valley in the central part of the state.The disaster order has been renewed over the past year, expanding to include 30 counties in the June 2026 renewal and does the following:

Suspends all laws that prevent the transfer of bodies to families as soon as possible.
Suspends all laws regarding state agencies’ contracting or procurement rules that would impede its emergency response necessary to protect life or property threatened by the declared disaster.
Temporarily suspended — with written approval from the governor’s office — laws that would prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action to respond to the disaster.

Drought disaster covers 111 Texas counties as wildfire risk persists

Abbott amended and renewed a drought disaster order originally issued on July 8, 2022, and it has been renewed several times over the past four years.

When it was originally signed, the order impacted 158 counties across the entire state, from the Texas Panhandle to the Permian Basin to the Texas Hill Country.

The original order states that the persistent drought conditions in the state have increased the wildfire threat in the region. The June 2026 renewal order states that the Texas Division of Emergency Management has confirmed that those same drought conditions persist; however, only 111 counties are listed in the renewed order.

The order does the following:

Suspends all laws regarding state agencies’ contracting or procurement rules that would impede its emergency response necessary to protect life or property threatened by the declared disaster.
Temporarily suspends — with written approval from the governor’s office — laws that would prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action to respond to the disaster.

Border security disaster spans 70 counties in fifth-year renewal

The original order was issued in May 2021 in response to a “surge of individuals unlawfully crossing the Texas-Mexico border posed an ongoing and imminent threat of disaster for a number of Texas counties.”

The original 2021 order affected 34 counties along the Texas border from El Paso to Brownsville, with Abbott saying it was in response to former President Joe Biden’s open-border policy.

“President Biden’s open-border policies have paved the way for dangerous gangs and cartels, human traffickers, and deadly drugs like fentanyl to pour into our communities,” Abbott said in a June 2021 statement. “Meanwhile, landowners along the border are seeing their property damaged and vandalized on a daily basis while the Biden Administration does nothing to protect them.

The order has been renewed and amended several times over the past five years, with the June 2026 order impacting 70 counties from El Paso through the Hill Country and the lower Rio Grande Valley.

The renewed order declares a state of disaster for those counties and for all state agencies impacted by the prescribed disaster.

Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.

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Bystanders rush to rescue passengers after small plane crashes on Texas highway | CNN

Published

1 day ago

June 17, 2026

Press Room

Bystanders rush to rescue passengers after small plane crashes on Texas highway | CNN

A small jet carrying six people crashed on a highway in South Texas Tuesday evening, with bystanders jumping in to assist emergency services in rescuing passengers from the fiery wreckage.

One person was killed and five others were injured after the plane crashed on Laredo’s Loop 20 highway, shutting down traffic in both directions and strewing debris across multiple lanes.

Video shared by a witness from the scene showed emergency responders attempting to crack open the plane’s windshield as authorities and bystanders assisted several people out of the burning aircraft. Some were seen walking away after escaping the aircraft.

The plane, a NetJets-operated Cessna Citation Latitude business jet, had departed San José del Cabo, Mexico, at around 6:18 p.m. local time and was bound for Austin, Texas, before diverting toward Laredo, along the US-Mexico border, according to flight data from FlightRadar24.

Authorities responded to the scene shortly before 10 p.m. local time after receiving a call from the local airport tower after the plane reported mechanical issues, Laredo Police Public Information Officer Jose Baeza told reporters from the scene. The plane lost contact with air traffic controllers before it crashed the highway, hitting a moving vehicle on its descent, he said.

FlightRadar24 data shows a steady, controlled descent into Laredo International Airport, until the signal cut out at around 600 feet, roughly two and a half miles short of the runway, at about 9:58 p.m. local time.

Laredo International Airport Director Gilberto Sanchez also told CNN affiliate KGNS the aircraft experienced a mechanical failure before crashing.

CNN has reached out to Laredo International Airport and NetJets.

Police did not reveal the identities of the six on board or the condition of those injured. The victims have been transported to a local hospital, Baeza told CNN.

“Regrettably and tragically there is one deceased involved in this crash,” Baeza told reporters from the scene, without giving further details as the victim’s family is being notified.

It’s unknown if anyone in the vehicle struck by the plane was injured. Five officers responding to the crash site were also transported to a local hospital for treatment related to injuries sustained during the rescue operation, Loredo Police Public Information Officer Jose Espinoza told CNN.

Federal agencies, including the National Transportation Security Board and the Federal Aviation Administration, have been notified and officers with the Federal Bureau of Investigation are already on-site, Baeza said.

CNN has reached out to the NTSB, FAA and FBI for more information.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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