(AP) — Giving thanks will be a little costlier this year, but it probably will not empty your wallet.

The price for putting Thanksgiving dinner on the table is expected to rise slightly this year, to about $49.41.

That’s 37 cents higher than in 2013. The increase is blamed on the higher price of dairy. The dairy used for the mashed potatoes and the whipped cream for pies is about 25 cents more than in 2013.

Miscellaneous ingredients, such as coffee, sugar and eggs, account for another 28 cents, while 3 pounds of sweet potatoes jumped 20 cents.

The good news is that a drop in fuel prices won’t just make it cheaper to drive to Grandma’s house for the big meal, it also has helped keep down the cost of some ingredients. Flour-based foods, such as stuffing mix, pie shells and dinner rolls, will run about 21 cents less than last year.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A former nurse who is charged with sexually assaulting four Kansas City, Kansas, hospital patients has returned to jail.

The Kansas City Star reports that deputies took Dennis Clark into custody after a Wyandotte County judge increased his bond from $10,000 to $75,000. Prosecutors had requested the increase after the charges filed against the 47-year-old were amended.

Clark now is charged with raping two patients at Providence Medical Center. He also faces charges of aggravated sexual battery involving two other patients. He’s no longer employed at the hospital, and the Kansas Board of Nursing has revoked his nursing license.

Meanwhile, police in two Johnson County cities are investigating similar allegations at hospitals where Clark formerly worked.

His attorney didn’t immediately return phone calls from The Associated Press.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Some Kansas City students have walked out of a speech Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon was giving in an apparent protest of the police shooting in Ferguson.

Nixon was talking Thursday at Lincoln College Preparatory Academy when a handful of students raised their hands over their heads in a gesture associated with the Ferguson protests. The Kansas City Star  reports that the students then left through an auditorium door without disrupting the speech.

Nixon was at Lincoln to recognize its status as a National Blue Ribbon School, one of the nation’s top awards for academic excellence.
Nixon says he understands the students’ concerns. He says they’re “going to be — and need to be — a force, so that we can be a better state and better society after this.”

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – A Missouri lawmaker is vowing to block recommended pay increases for elected officials.

Rep. Mark Parkinson announced Thursday that he’ll file a resolution against proposed salary increases next session.

A panel this week suggested 8 percent pay raises in fiscal year 2016 and again in 2017 for the governor and other statewide officials.

State lawmakers also would receive a $4,000 raise over two years.

But Parkinson, a St. Charles Republican, says the money could be better spent as the state’s economy continues to recover.

Senate President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey also opposes the increase, although at least one Democrat supports the measure.

Rep. Mike Colona of St. Louis says higher wages could help attract more candidates.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Two carjacking suspects have crashed into an Overland Park duplex while fleeing from police.

Police reports say a man was attempting to pick up a prostitute around 1 a.m. Thursday in Kansas City, Missouri, when his pickup truck was stolen. The Kansas City Star  reports that officers pursued the stolen truck into Kansas. The chase ended when the driver lost control of the truck.

One of the suspects ran into the bedroom of a home. Kansas City police say residents pointed out where the 21-year-old man was hiding in the bedroom.

Police said a 33-year-old woman was found hiding between houses outside.

The man and woman were arrested and taken to the Johnson County Jail.

 

KANSAS CITY- Two people were injured in an accident just before 11 a.m. on Thursday in Johnson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2012 Buick driven by Julie D. Klopper, 38, Stillwell, was northbound on U.S. 69 at College Boulevard.

The Buick struck the rear of a 2005 Acura driven by Terri R. Custer, 60, Overland Park. The collision caused the Acura to strike the rear of a 2008 GMC SUV driven by Ngoc Nguyen, 24, Kansas City.

The Buick then struck a 2003 Ford F250 driven by Gary McCormack, 53, Lenexa.

Klopper was transported to Menorah Medical Center
Custer was transported to Overland Park Regional Medical Center.
The KHP reported Klopper was not wearing a seat belt.

SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. meteorologists say the world in October continued to set heat records. They say despite a bitter U.S. cold snap, the globe is rushing toward its warmest year on record.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday that last month was the hottest October on record. The 58.43 degrees Fahrenheit (14.74 Celsius) beat out October 2003.

Five of the last six months have set monthly global heat records. July is the only exception. NASA and Japan’s weather agency also called it the hottest October on record.

NOAA says with only two months left in the year, 2014 has now surged ahead as the warmest year so far, beating 2010 and 1998. So far this year the world is averaging 58.62 degrees (14.78 degrees Celsius).

On Thursday, Graco voluntarily recalled several makes of its strollers after reports of finger amputations and lacerations caused by a malfunctioning hinge.

The folding hinge on the sides of the stroller can pinch a
child’s finger, posing a laceration or amputation hazard.

Customers with recalled products can verify if their stroller is being recalled  on the company’s website. 

Graco will then send a repair kit to customers including hinge covers to eliminate safety concerns.

The recall includes eleven Graco and Century-branded strollers with model names Aspen, Breeze, Capri, Cirrus, Glider, Kite,
LiteRider, Sierra, Solara, Sterling and TravelMate.

All models are a single-occupant stroller with an external sliding fold-lock hinge on each side and a one-hand fold release mechanism on the handle.

Strollers with a manufacture date from August 1, 2000 to September 25, 2014 are included in the recall. Model numbers and the date of manufacture are printed on the white label located at the bottom of the stroller leg just above the rear wheel.

DETROIT (AP) — The Honda Odyssey was the only minivan to earn the highest safety rating in new crash tests by the insurance industry.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says the Nissan Quest, Chrysler Town and Country, and Dodge Caravan all garnered the lowest rating on the small overlap front crash test. In each of those tests, the crash caused the minivan’s structure to collapse.

The small overlap test is a severe test that replicates what happens when a vehicle’s front corner collides with another object at 40 miles per hour.

The Toyota Sienna earned an “acceptable” rating. The group said its structure was weak but the dummy was protected by its side air bags.

IIHS plans to test one other minivan — the Kia Sedona — in the coming weeks.