This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Biden's presidential calculus. The tea party seizing on Obamacare rollout. D.C.'s deer stew.

Happy Friday. The National Park Service has found an interesting way to help feed the homeless. It's donating the meat harvested from deer killed in D.C.'s Rock Creek Park to a shelter where it will be made into a ragu on top of whole wheat pasta and topped with cheese. [CityPaper]

Topping the news: Vice President Joe Biden doesn't miss an opportunity to fuel speculation that he'll run for president in 2016, but is that a ploy to stay relevant or a real possibility? [WaPost]

-> Tea party groups plan to use the implementation of Obamacare as a launching point for power. [TheHill]

Tweet of the day: From @ananavarro: "Obama heads to Latin America today for 1st time since Cartagena trip last yr. Word of advice to Secret Service: Pay the hookers!"

And from @OKnox: "Why so quick to rule out the 'Hunger Games In Jamestown!' theory?" (context, for those who missed the story)

Happy birthday: On Saturday to GOP strategist Dave Hansen and on Sunday to Mark McGrath, Taylorsville's community development director.

In other news: Gov. Gary Herbert declares May as Clean Air Month and urged Utahns to do some little things, like buy a new gas can or a lawnmower, to help reduce pollution. [Trib] [DNews]

-> Rep. Chris Stewart's time in the military helped prepare him for life jetting back and forth to Washington as a congressman. [Trib]

-> Columnist Tom Wharton goes after Granite School District for not giving health care to its hourly employees. [Trib]

-> Paul Rolly says Murray's police may be a little quick with the traffic tickets similar to Salt Lake City. [Trib]

-> Pat Bagley links the disaster in Bangladesh to one much closer to home. [Trib]

-> Utahns joined in with the National Day of Prayer and watched the livestream of the Washington, D.C. main event. [Trib]

-> Mayors within Salt Lake County are planning to boost funding for homeless services. [DNews]

-> More folks are ditching their cars and hitching a ride on UTA's FrontRunner now that it's line from Provo to Ogden is complete. [Trib]

-> Layoffs are coming to the Kennecott mine because of the recent landslide. [Trib] [DNews]

-> City Weekly talks to freelance journo Chris Vanocur about his new website and a forthcoming book. [SLWeekly]

-> Rep. Rob Bishop wants guarantees that the Ogden air control tower will stay open. [KUTV]

-> A group of Organize for America (think Obama 2012) supporters rallied at the state's federal building to encourage Sen. Orrin Hatch to back immigration reform, a position he seems poised to take. [Trib]

-> Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott talk about Hatch's move on immigration and the latest in the efforts to change Utah's nominating system. [UtahPolicy]

-> Former Utah County Commissioner David Gardner has passed away. [Trib] [DNews]

Nationally: A slew of vacancies in top U.S. government posts is slowing policy making ability and leaving temporary or acting folks in charge of massive operations. [NYTimes]

-> Sixteen states — including Utah — are still deciding whether to expand their Medicaid programs as part of the Affordable Care Act, AKA Obamacare. And time is running out. [WaPost]

-> The Washington Post's Dana Milbank notes that Democrats have spent millions to defeat Mark Sanford in a special South Carolina congressional race — but that Sanford has done a good job of torpedoing his own chances. [WaPost]

-> Take a look at the emotional pictures around the crowning of 1 World Trade Center. [NYTimes]

Where are they?

Rep. Jason Chaffetz holds a fund-raiser in the morning.

Rep. Chris Stewart meets with representatives of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment, the Utah Medical Equipment Dealers Association and the Building Owners and Managers Association of Utah, sits down with Gov. Herbert and later participates in a UTA Ride Along.

Gov. Gary Herbert attends a ribbon cutting at the new eBay facility, views the Kennecott landslide, meets with Stewart, then chats with Ted Wilson and Julie Mack and then does interviews for the new UDOT executive director.

AG John Swallow attends the Stand4Change Day event.

SL Co. Mayor Ben McAdams hits the commemoration event of the end of the Vietnam War and hits a Conference of Mayors meeting.

SLC Mayor Ralph Becker meets with Tracy Aviary Executive Director Tim Brown and tours the

Salt Lake Community College downtown campus.

WVC Mayor Mike Winder attends a ribbon cutting at Sephora.

President Barack Obama delivers a speech in Mexico and meets with business leaders there before heading to Costa Rica for a full day of events with President Chinchilla.

Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Email us at cornflakes@sltrib.com. If you haven't already, sign up for our weekday email and get this sent directly to your inbox. [Trib]

— Thomas Burr and Matt Canham Twitter.com/thomaswburr and Twitter.com/mattcanham