KIMBERLY HEFLING, AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Time to stock up on the ramen noodles. The average cost of attending college crept up again this year, the College Board said Thursday.

The average sticker price, with room and board included, for undergraduate students attending a four-year college or university in their home state was $18,943. Out-of-state students at those schools paid, on average, $32,762. At two-year public schools, in-state students paid an average $11,052.

The cost to attend a private, four-year nonprofit college: $42,419, on average, including housing and meal plan.

For-profit schools cost about $15,230, but housing figures weren’t available.

Books and transportation costs can add more than $2,000 to the cost of attending college, and that rises even more for commuters.

The highest rate of increase of 3.7 percent was among private, nonprofit colleges. And even though the increases across higher education outpaced inflation, the rates of increase were lower than those students saw five, 10 or 30 years ago, the College Board said.

When adjusted for inflation, students are paying more than triple what students paid 30 years ago to attend a public, four-year institution and about 2.5 times more to attend a private nonprofit or two-year public one.

“The price increases are actually quite moderate this year, but still, what people are paying, and this is before financial aid, is the accumulation of many years of price increases,” said Sandy Baum, a co-author of the nonprofit College Board’s annual college pricing report. “So, if the price goes up just a little bit this year, people aren’t really going to breathe a sigh of relief because the price is already high from their perspective.”

Baum said during tough economic times, college costs tend to go up because public institutions receive less in state dollars and private ones see a decrease in endowments and in giving. Other contributing factors are wide ranging from the increasing costs of technology to health insurance for university employees.

Only the wealthiest of Americans are seeing their incomes rise, so most students feel the tuition upticks more, Baum said.

The number of full–time undergraduate students increased by 16 percent in the three years leading up to fall 2010 to 13.7 million, but then declined to 13 million in fall 2013. The number of students taking out student loans and the amount taken out, on average, by students has been declining, the College Board said. It said about 60 percent of students who earned a bachelor’s degree in 2012-2013 from public or private, nonprofit schools from which they began their studies graduated with debt, borrowing an average of $27,300.

The breakdown in pricing:

—Sticker prices, on average, for in-state tuition and fees at public four-year schools increased to $9,139 this school year — a 2.9 percent increase over the 2013-2014 school year. The average out-of-state price tag was $22,958, an increase of 3.3 percent increase. Room and board was $9,804.

—Public two-year schools had a $3,347 published price on average for tuition and fees— an increase of 3.3 percent. Room and board was $7,705.

—Tuition and fees at private, nonprofit schools rose 3.7 percent to an average of $31,231. Room and board was $11,188.

—For-profit schools saw a 1.3 percent increase in tuition and fees.

Published prices don’t necessarily reflect what students actually pay because they don’t include grant dollars provided by institutions or government aid such as Pell Grants, the GI Bill and tax credits. This school year, full-time students received an average of about $6,110 in aid at public four-year schools, $5,090 at public two-year ones, and $18,870 at private colleges.

The average in-state prices at four-year schools ranged from $4,646 in Wyoming to $14,712 in New Hampshire.

For out-of-state students, the most affordable tuition of $9,910 was in South Dakota. On the other end, the most expensive was $34,331 in Vermont.

TOPEKA- Two Kansas teenagers were injured in an accident just before 2 p.m. in Shawnee County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis driven by Patrick Francis Perez, 17, Topeka, was northbound on Western Street making a right turn onto 17th Street in Topeka.

The driver dropped beverage. The vehicle left the roadway to the right and struck a light pole.

Perez and a passenger Arianna Nicole Stallons, 17, Topeka, were transported to Stormont Vail.

Another teen in the vehicle Xavier A. Vega, 15, was not injured.

The KHP reported all were properly restrained at the time of the accident.

MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say high schools students’ use of electronic cigarettes tripled over three years.

In a large national survey last year, 4.5 percent of high school students said they had used an e-cigarette at least one day the previous month. That’s up from 1.5 percent in 2011 and 2.8 percent in 2012.

It’s not known how many only tried it once that month and didn’t do it again.

E-cigarettes heat liquid nicotine into a vapor. Experts say nicotine is especially harmful to children. Dozens of states outlaw the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, and federal officials have proposed a nationwide ban on such sales.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report Thursday also found 13 percent of high school students recently smoked regular cigarettes.

TOPEKA — The Kansas Supreme Court announced today that it will begin deliberating at 8 a.m. Monday, November 17, the original mandamus action filed with the court on the topic of same-sex marriage licenses.

The court will release its decision as soon as it is able to following deliberations.

On October 10, Attorney General Derek Schmidt filed a Petition for a Writ of Mandamus against a Johnson County District Court judge who issued an administrative order directing the court clerk in the 10th judicial district to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Schmidt’s petition asked the court to stop Johnson County District Court from issuing same-sex marriage licenses.

The matter was scheduled for hearing on November 6. On November 5, the Supreme Court cancelled the November 6 hearing and issued an Order to Show Cause. The order continued an earlier stay of the Johnson County District Court judge’s administrative order and instructed the parties to show cause by 5 p.m. November 14 why the stay should – or should not – remain in effect pending resolution of a separate case filed in federal district court that challenged Kansas’ laws prohibiting same-sex marriage.

The parties were also ordered to show cause why the Kansas Supreme Court’s consideration of the mandamus action should – or should not – be stayed pending final resolution of the federal case.

All documents related to this case are available on Kansas Judicial Branch website at www.kscourts.org under the listing State v. Moriarty in the What’s New section of the home page.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka’s plan to buy a racing facility won’t go to a public vote.

On Wednesday, a Shawnee County judge invalidated a petition seeking to force a vote on the Heartland Park purchase. The Topeka Capital-Journal  reports that petition backers wanted to overturn the city governing body’s vote to buy the financially troubled racing facility and expand its redevelopment district. They contend it’s not a financially good deal for the city.

But the judge found that an initiative petition seeking to overturn an administrative ordinance is something not allowed within Kansas law.

City officials have said buying Heartland Park would help address the need to cover bond debt on the property.

WICHITA -A Topeka store clerk was indicted Wednesday on federal charges of aiding and abetting an armed robbery and carjacking at the store where he worked, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said in a news release.

Ahmad Salim Salti, 20, Topeka, Kan., was charged with one count of aiding and abetting armed robbery, one count of aiding and abetting carjacking and one count of aiding and abetting the brandishing of a firearm during the robbery.

The indictment alleged that Salti aided and abetted a Sept. 16, 2014, armed robbery and carjacking at the Low Cost Plus convenience store at 3101 S.E. 6th Avenue in Topeka.

In September, Pattrick J. Towner, 24, Topeka, Kan., was indicted on one count of armed robbery and one count of carjacking. According to court documents, on Sept. 16, 2014, Towner held at gunpoint a technician who was working on the ATM in the Low Cost Plus convenience store. Towner forced the technician to give him the keys to a Ford Freestar van containing cash used for restocking ATMs. Then Towner fled with the van.

If convicted, Salti faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the robbery charge, a maximum penalty of 15 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the carjacking charge, and a penalty of not less than seven years and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of brandishing a firearm. The Topeka Police Department and the FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag is prosecuting.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) has appointed a new team to handle agriculture and trade policy in Washington, D.C., and Kansas. Legislative Assistant Judd Gardner, Legislative Correspondent Trey Joy and State Agriculture Representative John Sachse will serve Kansans as part of Sen. Moran’s agriculture team.

“Judd, Trey and John are important additions to my legislative staff,” Sen. Moran said. “Their backgrounds allow them to understand first-hand the challenges Kansas farmers and ranchers face. Ensuring a bright future for agriculture in our state is one of my top priorities in the Senate, and I am confident they will serve Kansans well on my behalf.”

Gardner and Joy—based in Washington, D.C.—will focus their efforts on agriculture and trade policy, as well as meet and work with Kansans and agriculture organizations to address policy concerns. Sachse—based in Manhattan, Kan.—will meet and work with constituents from across the state, including county leadership and agriculture organizations, to address policy concerns.

Gardner has advocated on behalf of agriculture interests for a number of years, including a stint with the House Committee on Agriculture. He received a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Texas Tech University and a master’s degree in agricultural sciences from West Texas A&M University. Gardner was raised on a cow-calf operation in central New Mexico.

Joy achieved a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Business from Fort Hays State University. While at Fort Hays State, he was elected mayor of Smith Center, Kan., where he served for more than five years focusing his efforts on rural economic development. Additionally, Joy and his twin brother are fifth generation farmers in Smith County.

Sachse achieved a bachelor’s degree in animal science, with a minor in agricultural economics at Kansas State University. At K-State, he held numerous leadership positions in agriculture-related organizations including co-founding the K-State Collegiate Cattlemen’s Club. Additionally, he holds his Masters of Beef Advocacy and is Beef Quality Assurance Certified. Sachse will be residing in Manhattan, Kan.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the state of Kansas’ request to delay same-sex marriages while litigation on the matter continues. Following the ruling Congressman Tim Huelskamp (KS-01) released the following statement:

“It is a very sad day for not only Kansas, but states across the country as they fight to defend laws passed by the people. Once again, the Supreme Court wrongly affirmed that elitist, unelected judges are permitted to impose their morality on the rest of America and destroy constitutional rights in direct contradiction to its decision in the Windsor case which explicitly acknowledged the rights of states to regulate marriage. Instead, the Court is stealing political power from the nearly three million people who reside in Kansas. Nearly ten years ago seventy percent of Kansans voted in favor of the Marriage Protection Amendment which I authored, a vote destroyed today by the seven Supreme Court Justices who refused to grant a stay.

“I agree with the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals which found in its recent decision that judges do not hold such sweeping power to overturn marriage laws, ‘Of all the ways to resolve this question, one option is not available: a poll of the three judges on this panel, or for that matter all federal judges, about whether gay marriage is a good idea. Our judicial commissions did not come with such a sweeping grant of authority, one that would allow just three of us—just two of us in truth—to make such a vital policy call for the thirty-two million citizens who live within the four States of the Sixth Circuit: Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee.’”