Nation briefs 6/29/16

Monkey study: Zika lingers in pregnancy

WASHINGTON -- Researchers infected pregnant monkeys with the Zika virus to learn how it harms developing fetuses -- and in an unusual twist, the public can get a real-time peek at the findings. Among the first surprising results: While most people harbor Zika in their bloodstream for only a week or so after infection, the virus lingered in one pregnant monkey's blood for 70 days and in another for 30 days. A bit of good news: Tests with non-pregnant monkeys suggest one infection with Zika protects against a second bout. Rhesus macaque monkeys make a good model for studying how Zika infects people, University of Wisconsin- Madison researchers said Tuesday in Nature Communications. But what's novel is the team is posting its data online right away so research labs can work together to speed discoveries.

Millions of Ikea dressers recalled

WASHINGTON -- Ikea is recalling 29 million chests and dressers that easily can tip over and trap children underneath. Six children have been killed and three dozen others injured in the last 27 years, and federal safety officials Tuesday urged consumers to take immediate action. The Swedish retailer announced the recall Tuesday, saying the furniture can pose "a tip-over and entrapment hazard that can result in death or injuries to children" if it is not properly anchored to a wall. The recall is for several types of Ikea chests and dressers, including the Malm line. Ikea said the units under the recall are children's chests and drawers taller than 23.5 inches and adult chests and dressers taller than 29.5 inches.

State wants to try Dylann Roof first

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- South Carolina has primary jurisdiction over the case of a man accused of fatally shooting nine black parishioners in Charleston last year and should be allowed to prosecute him before the federal government does, a state attorney argued Tuesday. Dylann Roof, 22, is charged with nine counts of murder in the shooting deaths of parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in June 2015. Roof's federal trial on hate crimes and other charges is set for November. State and federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Roof, but prosectuor Scarlett Wilson said the federal government has not executed a prisoner in 13 years. If Roof is sentenced to death in federal court first, "the state can have no confidence that the United States will ever seek to carry out a death sentence," she wrote.

Police: Body lodged in DUI suspect's car

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- Oceanside police say a suspected drunk driver struck and killed a man, then drove for a mile with his body lodged in the car. Esteysi Sanchez, 29, of Oceanside was arrested Monday morning for vehicular manslaughter. She's jailed. Police said about 6:30 a.m., Sanchez hit a man on a sidewalk. The man's body went through the windshield and ended up on the front passenger seat, but his severed leg crashed through the back window and landed on the trunk. Police said Sanchez drove about a mile, parked in a cul-de-sac and walked away. She was arrested a short time later.

-- From wire reports