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.

ARNOLD, Neb. (AP) — Storms that raced through Nebraska damaged buildings, toppled trees and knocked out power in several areas.

The National Weather Service says gusts reaching a reported 100 mph Tuesday night blew apart an outbuilding near Arnold in central Nebraska and damaged others. Golf ball-size hail was reported 12 miles (20 kilometers) north-northwest of Rushville in the Panhandle.

Power lines were reported down in several communities, many because of falling trees and limbs.

No injuries have been reported.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An Ohio-based animal rights watchdog group wants a Nebraska university to permanently ban a team of researchers from experimenting on mice after the university self-reported a breach of research protocols in 2016.

Stop Animal Exploitation Now called for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to take action on Tuesday.

The demand stems from a university report to a government agency regarding a dispute between researchers and a veterinarian over the timely euthanasia of mice used in a study.

An investigation into the matter found unauthorized individuals were participating in animal-related activities, research was being done in an unapproved lab and researchers failed to follow animal well-being and post-procedure guidelines.

A university spokesman says corrective and preventative measures are now in place to prevent breaches in protocol.

POLSON, Mont. (AP) — Law enforcement officers in northwestern Montana believe a body that was recovered from the Flathead River is that of a 23-year-old Nebraska man who went missing last month.

Richard Mitchell of Minatare, Nebraska, fell into the fast-moving water on May 31 after passing warning signs at a scenic overlook just below the SQK Dam on the Flathead Indian Reservation.

Lake County Sheriff Don Bell tells KERR-AM that a fisherman spotted the body Tuesday in a section of the Flathead River called the Big Bend, which is west of Ronan and about 17 river miles (27 kilometers) from the dam.

Bell says the body was being sent to the state crime lab in Missoula for confirmation of the identification and to determine the cause of death.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska state senator who called for an overhaul of the state flag is turning to the internet to come up with a possible new look.

Sen. Burke Harr of Omaha says he wants to see ideas from the public and may try to change the flag again if one design receives a strong positive reaction.

Harr says he sees nothing wrong with the current state flag, which features the state seal. But he says he’d like to see an image more recognizable and distinguishable. The flag hung upside down at the Capitol for more than a week in January before someone noticed.

Harr says his staff was approached by officials from Skillshare, a New York-based online learning community that offered to create new designs via crowdsourcing.

SCHUYLER, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 33-year-old man has been fatally shot at a motel in eastern Nebraska.

Officers were sent to the Schuyler Inn in Schuyler a little before 2 a.m. Tuesday. They found a man suffering from several gunshot wounds. Police say he was pronounced dead later at a hospital. His name hasn’t been released.

A person of interest in the case has been identified, but no arrests have been reported.