Texas to create response team to combat New World screwworms
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Wednesday directed two state agencies to assemble a response team to combat the New World screwworm, which poses a serious threat to Texas livestock and wildlife.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, New World screwworms are a species of fly larvae that infest and feed off the flesh of warm-blooded animals.
In a news release, Abbott said, 'The mission for the Response Team is clear: to lead Texas' prevention and response efforts and ensure that Texas remains informed, prepared, and aligned to prevent the re-emergence of this destructive parasite.'
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) are responsible for establishing the Texas New World Screwworm Response Team.
'As a border state, Texas represents the first line of defense against the potential re-entry of this harmful pest into the United States,' Abbott wrote in a letter to TPWD and TAHC. 'Texas played a critical role in eradicating this pest from the United States in the 1960s and will do so again if the need arises.'
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins recently announced a multi-national program to stop the spread of screwworms.
The U.S. planned to invest $8.5 million in a dispersal site from Moore Air Base and $20 million in a facility in Mexico that produces sterilized screwworms. The insects will then be released by planes over Mexico to stop them from coming to the U.S.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Texas politicians lead effort to study a psychedelic drug. What is ibogaine?
Ibogaine is illegal in the U.S., but growing evidence shows its promise treating the effects of traumatic brain injury and substance use disorder. A once obscure traditional psychedelic plant from Africa has made headlines recently as Texas pushes for more research and a prominent Republican wrote a vigorous endorsement of its possible use for the treatment of addiction and for veterans experiencing mental health issues. Ibogaine is illegal for use in the United States, but a growing body of evidence has shown its promise treating the effects of traumatic brain injury and substance use disorder. Earlier in June, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation to allocate $50 million for clinical trials approved by the Food and Drug Administration to study ibogaine. Texas is set to lead research into the drug's benefits treating mental health issues and addiction as a potential medication. Former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, also a former Texas governor, wrote a June 27 Washington Post op-ed supporting ibogaine research and criticizing the legacy of the war on drugs, started by President Richard Nixon and touted by President Ronald Reagan. Perry said he has 'come to realize just how wrong that narrative was.' 'That fear-based messaging kept us from exploring treatments that could have saved countless lives,' Perry wrote. Perry and a growing number of conservatives have argued ibogaine could be one of those treatments. Here's what to know about the drug. What is ibogaine? Ibogaine derives from the root of the iboga plant native to western-central Africa. It's been used in ceremonial rituals for centuries. It has hallucinogenic properties. The United States outlawed ibogaine in 1967 along with other psychotropic drugs. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 placed it as a schedule I hallucinogenic drug, along with marijuana. Ibogaine's classification prevented researchers from studying its effects. But unlike other schedule 1 drugs such as heroin, ibogaine has anti-addictive properties. There are risks since ibogaine can delay the body's normal electrical signals that control heart rhythm, which could lead to death. Other countries, such as Mexico, have allowed its use. American veterans and others have traveled to smaller, clandestine clinics for treatment to deal with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction. Many clinics are along the border and around cities such as Tijuana. Why is it in the news? At the state and federal level, there is growing interest in studying psychedelic drugs to treat veterans and others. Texas passed legislation earlier in June to study the drug with a public university alongside a company and hospital, Abbott's office said. Dr. Marty Makary, the FDA commissioner, has said expanding research on psychedelic drugs is a top priority for the Trump administration. In his op-ed, Perry cited the experiences of Morgan and Marcus Luttrell, twin combat veterans, who used ibogaine for recovery. Morgan Luttrell is now a Republican congressman from Texas who has advocated for ibogaine and other psychedelic drugs as treatment options. In January 2025, Perry and W. Bryan Hubbard, an advocate for ibogaine treatment, appeared on Joe Rogan's podcast to discuss ibogaine's benefits as a plant-based medicine. Hubbard led a Kentucky task force that sought to use opioid settlement funds to research ibogaine's effects to treat addiction, but the initiative failed to gain support in the state. Hubbard and Perry eventually launched the Texas Ibogaine Initiative, which helped spur the state funding. What has research shown? Research, such as a Stanford University study of 30 male combat veterans, has shown ibogaine's promise. Coupled with magnesium sulfate to address heart effects, ibogaine appeared to reduce symptoms of PTSD, anxiety and depression, and improve cognitive function from traumatic brain injury, according to the study, published in 2024 in the eminent journal Nature Medicine. Other studies have shown benefits treating addiction and depression. What do critics say? One issue with ibogaine is the ability to produce it, because it is derived from a rare plant and has mostly been used for ceremonial purposes. There is research to help innovate its safe production, but it could be difficult for the drug to be more widely available, as researchers at the University of California, Davis, Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics have said. And while it's shown benefits with combat veterans, questions remain on its efficacy among randomized participants. With Texas' research, ibogaine could get closer to FDA approval for its use as a medication.
Time Magazine
2 days ago
- Time Magazine
TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2025: Abbott
Medical device and health care giant Abbott received FDA clearance in 2024 for two over-the-counter continuous glucose monitors, including one of the first over-the-counter devices available to U.S. consumers who don't have diabetes or hypoglycemia. The company is capitalizing on growing public awareness of the relationship between blood sugar and health, as well as the popularity of health-related wearables, and now lets any U.S. resident understand how diet, exercise, and lifestyle impact their metabolic health without a prescription. 'Abbott innovation is providing two things you need most when it comes to your health: knowledge and power,' says Abbott chairman and CEO Robert Ford. 'With financial and staffing constraints in health care, our goal is to make health information and treatment more accessible, whenever and wherever it is needed.'The FDA also gave Abbott the green light in September 2024 to launch a clinical trial evaluating the effectiveness of the company's deep brain stimulation (DBS) system in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD)—a form of major depression that has not responded to two or more different types of traditional therapies including medications.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Want Decades of Passive Income? 5 Stocks to Buy Now and Hold Forever
Annual healthcare expenditures in the United States alone approach $5 trillion. Healthcare industry leaders have proven remarkably consistent as dividend growers. Abbott, J&J, Medtronic, Cardinal Health, and West Pharmaceutical are all worth a closer look. 10 stocks we like better than Johnson & Johnson › The magic of dividends is that you don't need to do anything to earn them aside from holding the stocks that pay them. Someone who accumulates enough dividend stocks could live off their portfolio's passive income stream and never have to work another day in their life. The trick is finding the right stocks. There aren't many businesses that can deliver decade after decade. That said, the healthcare industry is a great place to look for such companies. Healthcare spending is in the trillions of dollars annually in the United States alone, and the desire for better care and more of it is only expanding as the world's population grows and the median age rises. Here are five proven healthcare winners that can deliver decades of passive income. Nothing is truly forever, but these stocks are about as close as you can get. It's hard not to start with Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). The stock is a Dividend King with a streak of 62 consecutive annual dividend increases. It's among the world's leading developers of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and products. It's an industry titan with a fortress-like balance sheet that enables it to balance dividend increases with strategic acquisitions and product development, driving steady growth. At its current share price, the stock offers a solid 3.5% dividend yield, and its payout ratio is a cozy 49% of 2025 earnings estimates. Johnson & Johnson is growing earnings at a mid-single-digit percentage pace annually, so it won't make you rich quickly. However, reinvest those dividends, and your Johnson & Johnson holding could eventually become a cash cow for your portfolio. The Dividend Kings club is a small group, but it includes another long-standing industry giant: Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT). That company has raised its dividends annually for 53 consecutive years. After spinning off its pharmaceutical business as AbbVie over a decade ago, Abbott has centered its business around medical devices for cardiovascular and diabetes patients, as well as diagnostics and consumer nutrition products. Abbott should remain a dependable dividend payer for years to come. At the current share price, its yield is just under 1.8%, but investors can expect some notable dividend increases in the near future. Analysts expect Abbott to grow its earnings by 10% annually over the next three to five years, and the payout ratio is only 45% of 2025 earnings estimates. Some of healthcare's most essential players operate behind the scenes. Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH), for example, is a global distributor of pharmaceuticals and healthcare products to hospitals, care providers, and patients. The company has also built a strong reputation as a dividend stock, with 30 consecutive years of payout hikes. The stock yields 1.2% at its current share price, but there is considerable room for management to increase the dividend. Its payout ratio is barely a quarter of this year's estimated earnings, and analysts project nearly 11% annualized earnings growth over the next three to five years. Cardinal Health is an excellent stock for investors who have time to let those dividend increases stack up for a couple of decades. Another under-the-radar name, West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE: WST), designs and sells delivery systems for injectable medicines. Its products include stoppers and plungers in injection devices, wearable injectors, and injection pens. The company's business has gradually shifted from standardized offerings to more advanced, proprietary products that carry higher profit margins. That bodes well for the company's dividend, which it has already raised for 32 consecutive years. Additionally, the dividend payout ratio remains at only 13% of 2025 earnings estimates, and the business is poised to grow at a mid-to-high single-digit percentage pace. So, while its current yield is just 0.4%, investors can expect their payouts to rise steadily for many years to come. Closing out this list is medical device and equipment giant Medtronic (NYSE: MDT). It specializes in products and equipment used by patients and healthcare professionals for a wide range of conditions and care categories. The company is on course to become a Dividend King, with management's dividend-hiking streak currently at 47 years. The stock also offers a solid yield of 3.2% at the current share price. Medtronic's diverse product portfolio and history of continuous innovation have driven its consistent growth for generations. Today, the company has nearly 200 clinical trials underway and over 43,000 active patent matters. The dividend remains safe with a comfortable 50% payout ratio, while analysts expect annualized earnings growth of 6% to 7% moving forward. Investors who buy and hold Medtronic can expect more of what the company has already delivered for decades now. Before you buy stock in Johnson & Johnson, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Johnson & Johnson wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $687,731!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $945,846!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 818% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 175% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AbbVie and Abbott Laboratories. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $75 calls on Medtronic and short January 2026 $85 calls on Medtronic. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Want Decades of Passive Income? 5 Stocks to Buy Now and Hold Forever was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
