WASHINGTON (AP) — The Zika virus may not seem as big a threat as last summer but don’t let your guard down — especially if you’re pregnant or trying to be.

While cases of the birth defect-causing virus have dropped sharply from last year’s peak in parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, Zika hasn’t disappeared from the region and remains a potential threat.

It’s hard to predict how much risk people face in locales with smoldering infection, or if cases might spike again. For now, pregnant women still are being urged not to travel to a country or area with even a few reported cases of Zika, because the consequences can be disastrous for a fetus’ brain.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A Kearney man who last week fled from a central Nebraska courtroom in the midst of his sentencing hearing for a drug conviction has been sentenced to two years in prison.

41-year-old James Cabrera was sentenced Monday in Buffalo County District Court for possession of methamphetamine. This time, he was handcuffed and shackled at the waist.

Authorities say Cabrera ran from his district court hearing on June 21 as he was being sentenced for the drug count. He was later found and arrested in Shelton.

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ODESSA, Neb. (AP) — Law enforcement officials in south-central Nebraska say one person has died in a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 80.

The crash happened around 2 p.m. Thursday between Odessa and Elm Creek.

A Buffalo county sheriff’s spokesman confirmed that one person had been killed in the crash. Officials have not released details of the crash or the person’s name pending notification of family members.

Officials say at least one other person was taken by ambulance to a hospital.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s roads and aeronautics agencies are formally merging into a new state Department of Transportation.

Gov. Pete Ricketts unveiled the new agency’s name and logo Thursday outside the building that has served as the Department of Roads’ main headquarters.

Nebraska had been the nation’s only state without a Department of Transportation. Ricketts says combining the agencies will allow the state to streamline many of its services for roads, runways and other transportation infrastructure.

Kyle Schneweis, the agency’s director, says the change will save approximately $100,000 in administrative costs, and he expects the savings to increase over time.

The merger officially goes into effect on Saturday, the start of the new fiscal year.

SCHUYLER, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a 33-year-old man who was fatally shot at a motel in eastern Nebraska.

Officers sent to the Schuyler Inn in Schuyler early Tuesday morning found the man suffering from several gunshot wounds. Police say he was pronounced dead later at a hospital.

The Colfax County attorney’s office identified him as Janner Ramon Torres Diaz. Officials say the man had worked at the local Cargill plant and had lived at the motel for a few months.

No arrests have been reported in the homicide investigation.