HOLLY RAMER, Associated Press

WATERVILLE VALLEY, N.H. (AP) — Some U.S. consumers are going over the Internet or through the woods to find fresh Christmas trees this year, taking advantage of shopping options at opposite ends of the cost spectrum.

In one camp are thrifty folks paying as little as $5 for trees they cut down themselves in national forests. In the other are consumers willing to spend upward of $100 to order trees online and have them shipped to their doors.

The National Christmas Tree Association says fewer than 3 percent of the 33 million fresh trees purchased last year were sold online but that number is growing. Meanwhile, the U.S. Forest Service sold 196,000 Christmas trees last year to consumers willing to hike into the forests and harvest them.

TOPEKA — The Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission (KCAIC) announced Thursday that arts-themed license plates are now available for purchase at county treasurer offices across the state. The plates will directly fund grants to arts projects and communities in Kansas through one of the KCAIC’s programs.

“Funds received through license plate sales help fund the projects of artists and organizations that are growing the Kansas economy and enhancing quality of life through the arts,” said KCAIC Chairman Larry Meeker. “Purchasing an arts plate is a great way for Kansans to support the arts in their communities and our state.”

Individuals interested in obtaining an arts plate should take their current standard plates, along with proof of insurance and registration, to their county treasurer’s office. The fee to purchase the plate is $50, and 100 percent of the purchase fee will be used by the KCAIC to fund arts programs in Kansas. If registration is current, registration fees transfer from one plate to another, although county processing fees will apply.

“During the holiday season, many Kansans are looking for opportunities to give back to their communities,” said Kansas Commerce Secretary Pat George. “These plates are a way for Kansans to contribute to the work of numerous artists and organizations in the state, while displaying their support for the arts.”

Arts license plate fees are eligible for matching funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. The KCAIC has awarded more than $1 million in state and matching federal funds since fiscal year 2014. On Oct. 23, the KCAIC announced its latest round of grants, awarding more than $40,000 through its Arts Integration and Strategic Investment programs to 11 projects and communities in Kansas.

For more information about KCAIC grants, please visit KansasCommerce.com/CAICPrograms. To learn more about arts license plates, visit KansasCommerce.com/ArtsPlate.

MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress has failed to update the Freedom of Information Act despite bipartisan support in the House and Senate.

The Senate approved a bill this week that would require federal agencies to have a presumption of openness when considering release of government information. The House passed a similar bill in February, but the two chambers could not agree on final language.

Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont said he was deeply disappointed that the House did not take up the Senate bill, which he co-sponsored.

Leahy said he thought House Republican leaders would support the measure as a way to increase oversight of the Obama administration and make the government more accountable and transparent. The House adjourned Friday without acting on the bill.

He said Republicans “have chosen secrecy over sunlight.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has refused to declare a mistrial for a Topeka rape suspect accused of punching his defense attorney in front of jurors.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Shawnee County District Judge Marc Braun also found 32-year-old Lance Franklin to be in contempt of court and sentenced him to 180 days in jail. Franklin’s attorney, David McDonald, was knocked unconscious Thursday. McDonald told the newspaper in a text message that he never saw the punch coming.

McDonald wasn’t in court, but attorneys from his firm argued for a mistrial. The prosecution, however, argued the trial was going badly for Franklin and said he shouldn’t be rewarded by getting a fresh start.

Braun scheduled the trial to continue in February and allowed McDonald’s firm to withdraw from the case.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A gorilla was able to slip from her cage at a Kansas zoo after someone accidentally left a door open, but zoo officials say she never had access to public areas or vistors.

The city of Topeka says in a news release the gorilla, Tiffany, made it into a service area off her exhibit around 9:10 a.m. Friday.

The Topeka Capital-Journal (http://bit.ly/1AslOVn) reports zoo employees quickly lured the primate back into her enclosure, but not before she spilled a cup of chalk and opened a cassette player.

The gorilla was never harmed, and the zoo issued an all-clear at 9:30 a.m. The city says zoo management is investigating how the exhibit was left unsecured.

THAYER- An Oklahoma truck driver was injured in an accident just before 10:30 a.m. Friday in Neosho County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2015 International truck driven by David Ryan, 56, Locust Grove, OK., was traveling on U.S. 169 in Thayer.

The diver had medical issue. The truck left the road and struck two unoccupied vehicles.
Ryan was transported to Neosho County Memorial Hospital.

The KHP reported he was properly restrained at the time of the accident.

NEW YORK (AP) — You know who else loves the falling price of gasoline? The gas station owners.

That’s because when the wholesale price of gasoline falls quickly, the difference between that price and the price at the pump gets wider, boosting profits for stations. The steeper the drop, the better. And with motorists paying well under $3 a gallon for the first time in four years, profits at the filling stations are rising.

Over the past five years, gas stations have charged an average of 17.1 cents a gallon over the price they pay at the wholesale level. According to the Oil Price Information Service, that difference has stretched this year to 21.7 cents a gallon, the highest ever.

But that’s certainly not all profit. The National Association of Convenience Stores says when you factor in credit card fees and other operation costs, net profit for gasoline sales averages three cents a gallon.

The owner of a station on New York’s Long Island says when prices fall, people don’t do as much shopping around for the cheapest price as they do when prices are rising. Kevin Beyer says they’re feeling “a relief at the pump” — and that as a result, “people are more friendly.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Jurors have returned to court to decide whether to recommend the death penalty or life without parole for a man convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing an 8-year-old Topeka girl.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the penalty phase of Billy Frank Davis Jr.’s capital murder trial got underway Friday in Shawnee County District Court. Jurors deliberated 17 hours before finding the 31-year-old Davis guilty Thursday of 10 counts, including capital murder. The body of Ahliyah Nachelle Irvin was found in a dryer in March 2012 after she disappeared from an apartment.

Prosecution witness Joy Thomas testified Friday that the girl suffered the worst injuries that she had seen in 30 years of conducting sexual assault examinations. Jurors will hear Monday from a defense witness from Atlanta.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) received word that Kansas National Guardsmen will no longer be deployed by the Department of Defense (DoD) to support Ebola response operations in West Africa. During a meeting Thursday with General Frank Grass, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, in Sen. Moran’s Capitol Hill office, the senator raised questions about the deployment of the 891st Engineer Battalion and General Grass indicated that the deployment had been cancelled.

“As a result of the decline in Ebola cases in West Africa, the Department of Defense has cancelled the deployment of the Iola-based 891st Engineer Battalion in the Kansas National Guard,” Sen. Moran said. “It is a pretty nice Christmas present for the families of the 891st Engineer Battalion to know that their loved ones will no longer be deployed to West Africa in March. Guardsmen live by the motto ‘Always Ready, Always There’ and the National Guard celebrated 378 years of service to our country this week – Kansans stand ready for their next call of service.”

The decision to cancel the deployment of the Kansas National Guard was made because the total Army and National Guard requirements have dropped and there is enough capacity to support the current operations on the ground.

Following the DoD’s selection of the 891st Engineer Battalion for deployment authority to West Africa in November 2014, Sen. Moran expressed concerns about diminished customary benefits because of the non-combat nature of the deployment. Sen. Moran immediately called on DoD Secretary Chuck Hagel to direct an exception to make certain National Guardsmen and their families are receiving the same benefits as Active Duty service men and women. The DoD immediately resolved the matter and utilized a different deployment authority that would provide customary benefits to soldiers and their families prior to deployment.