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Park City • Former Vice President Joe Biden is encouraging someone unusual, at least for a Democrat, to run for the Senate seat now held by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah: Mitt Romney.
Biden told Romney he should run as they spoke together on stage in a private event at Romney’s annual invitation-only summit over the weekend for his supporters, businessmen and Republican power brokers.
Romney reacted only by smiling, according to reports from some at the event.

More people are headed for the Salt Lake County jail starting this weekend after an unpopular restriction policy was loosened.
As of 5 p.m. Friday, jail officials began accepting people suspected of serious types of misdemeanors, not just felonies. Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder early last year had implemented the policy, which prioritized jail space for only those suspected of felonies, as a way to combat severe overcrowding.

A wildfire burning near the Box Elder County town of Willard continued to grow Saturday but was no longer threatening homes or structures, authorities said.
Meanwhile, a blaze near Vernal had burned about 2500 acres by Saturday. It also initially threatened dozens of homes, before moving in a different direction.
Murry Hill Fire • In Box Elder, the Murry Hill Fire started at 7 p.m. Friday east of U.S. Highway 89 due to a spark from a powerline, Box Elder County emergency officials said. Fanned ...

Washington • Sen. Orrin Hatch is no Donald Trump when it comes to use of social media — perhaps, some might say, that’s a good thing­ — but the Utah Republican’s office has upped his game of late, joking about how he’ll use dietary supplements to stay alive forever and poking back at harsh criticism with humor.
After a Hatch detractor tweeted recently that Mormons have been trying to overthrow the U.S.

Every night by 9 p.m., 70 percent of the Utah Transit Authority’s bus and train routes have already ceased service and are tucked into bed for the night. In fact, one of every six routes — 17 percent — stop as early as 6 p.m.
UTA officials said Friday they know that is a problem for many people who work late or want to attend evening events, and listed it among several top challenges they hope to address in coming years.
“One of the things we hear all the time is we need service later,” UTA Pres...

At his inaugural news conference in 1995, then-LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley quipped that his church’s biggest challenge — a “remarkable and wonderful” one to have — was growth, growth and growth.
Mormon leaders might say the same thing 22 years later, but with a twist: The pace of that ever-swelling LDS growth has slowed. In fact, last year’s growth rate was the slowest since 1937.

For the first 16 years of Eric Mugisha’s life, he lived in a refugee camp in Rwanda.
Mugisha was born there, after his parents and grandparents fled their home country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in wake of mass genocide and political unrest.

Police have located and impounded a vehicle they believe was used in a deadly hit-and-run Wednesday in West Valley City.
The West Valley Police Department referred to the death of 47-year-old Jeremy Hardman as a homicide, according to tweets Friday night. Police said the man and his friend had been arguing near 3500 West and 4100 South before the friend got into a black sedan.

A Navajo-rug expert is offering to help people in Utah with their culturally significant works of art. For free.
Jackson Clark II is the keynote speaker in this month’s Navajo Rug Sale and Auction at the Natural History Museum of Utah, according to a news release. He’ll be on hand to examine people’s rugs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the museum, 301 S.

The Bureau of Land Management is bringing the 19th annual Wild Horse and Burro Festival to Davis County, and attendees can bring home some of the performers.
The “Extreme Trail Challenge” and “Youth and Adult Trainer Challenge” will showcase the talents of fillies, colts and burros that available for adoption through the federal agency’s Wild Horse and Burro program.