The Note: Ready To Run

— -- NOTABLES

--CLINTON MOVING TOWARD 2016 ANNOUNCEMENT: Hillary Clinton is moving toward announcing her candidacy for president of the United States as soon as this weekend, according to Democrats familiar with her plans. The exact timing of any announcement is not clear, but this time frame is in keeping with widely reported expectations regarding her timeline, ABC's JONATHAN KARL, LIZ KREUTZ and RICK KLEIN report. In recent months, Clinton has been prepping her campaign behind the scenes and hiring a robust team, including many of President Obama's former advisers and strategists. http://abcn.ws/1HWI5i4

--7 WAYS HILLARY CLINTON IS GETTING READY TO RUN: While Clinton has played coy in public about whether she will run for president, she and her team have been gearing up behind the scenes for a likely presidential campaign, and now the former secretary of state is expected to be just days, if not moments, away from announcing her bid. But running for president is no easy feat, and Clinton (who herself once admitted "you have to be a little crazy" to do it) knows so first-hand. Over the past few months, Clinton has been steadily preparing for her transition into candidate life, according to ABC's LIZ KREUTZ. From hiring staff, to hosting secret policy meetings, to tweeting strategically, here are the ways Clinton and her team have been gearing up for, and hinting at, her likely campaign for president. http://abcn.ws/1NWKsTW

--THIS WEEK ON 'THIS WEEK': Sunday on "This Week," George Stephanopoulos goes one-on-one with Secretary of State John Kerry. And likely GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee discusses the 2016 race. Plus, the powerhouse roundtable debates all the week's politics, with Democratic strategist and ABC News contributor Donna Brazile, ABC News contributor and Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol, Republican strategist and pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson, and radio and television host Tavis Smiley, author of the new book, "My Journey with Maya." Be sure to use #ThisWeek when you tweet about the program. TUNE IN SUNDAY: http://abcnews.go.com/thisweek

THE BUZZwith ABC's VERONICA STRACQUALURSI

RAND PAUL EDGES AWAY FROM HIS FATHER'S FOREIGN POLICIES. In some respects, an early mission for newly announced presidential candidate Rand Paul has been to escape his father's long shadow. Twice in interviews since his announcement, the first-term senator from Kentucky has walked back a previous statement -- his 2007 comment that it would be "ridiculous" to consider Iran a threat to U.S. security -- by saying he wasn't a candidate at the time: He was helping someone else. That "someone else" would be former Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, the former presidential candidate, grassroots libertarian icon and father to Rand, ABC's CHRIS GOOD notes. http://abcn.ws/1CzTkrP

PRESIDENT OBAMA FEELS THE 'LOVE' ON JAMAICA TRIP. President Obama managed to squeeze in some fun in between meetings with Jamaican and Caribbean leaders on his trip to Jamaica this week -- from paying homage to reggae star Bob Marley to practicing his own Jamaican accent. It all kicked off Wednesday when the president touched down in Kingston, Jamaica, greeting lawmakers as he stepped off Air Force One. Obama kicked off Thursday morning by meeting with Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller -- but things got off to a rocky start when the president accidentally referred to her as "Madam President," which is not her title. But apparently, Simpson Miller had no hard feelings towards the president for his mistake. Hours later, she declared her "love" for the president, ABC's ARLETTE SAENZ reports. http://abcn.ws/1GRpJAk Obama greets students at town hall with an enthusiastic "Wah Gwaan, Jamaica!" WATCH: https://vine.co/v/eBFb6e2uYna

VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: IRAQ FIGHT AGAINST ISIS 'MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.' Vice President Joe Biden Thursday argued the momentum against ISIS in Iraq was "moving in the right direction" and that claims to the contrary did not "reflect the circumstances on the ground." "[ISIS] momentum in Iraq has halted and in many places has been flat-out reversed," Biden told students and faculty at the National Defense University at Fort McNair in southeast Washington, D.C. "We are pounding [ISIS] from the sky," he said, adding that ISIS can be beaten from Syria, too, ABC's MARY ALICE PARKS reports. The speech came just days before a visit from Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to Washington. http://abcn.ws/1DoV1h3

WHY CUBA'S REMOVAL FROM US TERRORISM LIST IS GOING TO BE A BIG DEAL. The State Department has completed its review of Cuba's status as a state sponsor of international terrorism, President Obama announced Thursday from Jamaica, bringing the U.S. one step closer to a potentially momentous policy shift towards the Communist stronghold. However, he would not announce any decision about removing Cuba from the list and said that the White House was still reviewing the report. It's possible President Obama will announce a final decision on his upcoming trip to Panama where he'll attend the Summit of the Americas and meet with all 35 heads of state from across the region. ABC's JUSTIN FISHEL and SERENA MARSHALL highlight what you need to know about Cuba's place on the list and what's likely to happen next. http://abcn.ws/1y98bhL

HAPPENING TODAY

--ON THE ROAD WITH THE PRESIDENT: President Obama wakes up in Panama City today for a full day of meetings and events, but it won't be until late tonight when the president could have his first interaction with Cuban President Raul Castro, ABC's ARLETTE SAENZ notes. The two men will both attend the inauguration events for the 7th Summit of the Americas this evening -- participating in an Inauguration ceremony, taking a class photo, and attending a leaders dinner. Last night, Secretary of State John Kerry and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez met in Panama -- the first meeting between the top diplomats of the countries since 1958.

WHO'S TWEETING?

@jeneps: You won't see Hillary Clinton at a rally or giving a big speech any time soon. Kitchens, living rooms, diners. http://bloom.bg/1NZe03d

@nationaljournal: Ted Strickland is running for Congress and collecting a congressional pension http://buff.ly/1D0TADP

@JohnJHarwood: without expanding support beyond shrinking base of white voters, GOP needs extraordinary circumstances to win WH: http://nyti.ms/1ae0QSu

@bfouhy: Everything old is new again. Hillary Clinton announces candidacy via YouTube: "I'm in to win" (2007) http://youtu.be/bWJeyrfjQ9c

@TheFix: Wait, Hillary is going to announce for president this weekend? I am STUNNED.