WASHINGTON (AP) -- Seeking more power to shrink the government, President Barack Obama on Friday suggested smashing six economic agencies into one, an election-year idea intended to halt bureaucratic nightmares and force Republicans to back him on one of their own favorite issues.

CHICAGO (AP) -- Controversy over a Cook County ordinance that forbids the sheriff from notifying federal officials when they're about to release suspected illegal immigrants from jail is heating up after a suspect charged in a fatal hit-and-run posted bail and disappeared.

BEND, Ore. (AP) -- A proposed Central Oregon wind project is the first in the country to be considered for a permit that allows wind turbines to kill a few golden eagles so long as developers make up for the loss, federal officials say.

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- A lawyer planned to ask a federal judge on Friday to reject a call for almost three years of prison time and instead give probation to a Roman Catholic priest who pleaded guilty to siphoning $650,000 over eight years from his northwest Las Vegas parish gift shop, votive candle collection and prayer funds to support his gambling habit.

FLANDREAU, S.D. (AP) -- It seems an unlikely concept: teenagers forgoing the immediacy of a McDonald's Big Mac to don an apron, grab a meat patty and learn how to cook their own lower-fat version in the kitchen.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ben Bernanke presided over his first meeting as Federal Reserve chairman in March 2006 believing the nation's economy could pull off a "soft landing" from falling home prices. Three months later, Bernanke had begun to grasp that he and others had underestimated the risk housing posed to the economy.

DETROIT (AP) -- Fighting crime is a 24-hour job, but Detroit police stations will be sticking to business hours.

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A black man who says racial discrimination forced him to quit working at a Panera Bread restaurant has sued its franchisee, claiming the company doesn't want black employees in positions where they interact with the public. His lawsuit echoes allegations by a white manager of the suburban Pittsburgh store who sued last year, claiming he was fired for defending the employee.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- A Muslim woman is suing the University of Bridgeport, alleging that the school failed to investigate her claims that a fellow student sexually harassed her and instead retaliated by reporting her to the FBI based on a false claim that she was a terrorist.

NEW YORK (AP) -- It was only a few nights after the Occupy protesters began sleeping in his church sanctuary when the Rev. Bob Brashear realized that his laptop was missing.