News roundup: Rubio defends Lee over shutdown criticism

Rubio defends Lee over shutdown. Immigration advocates head to the Capitol. Aposhian's ex-wife wants protective order.

Happy Tuesday. Sen. Marco Rubio may have not been the face of the recent fight over Obamacare that lead to the government shutdown but he's defending one of the guy's who was led the effort. Rubio offered a strong endorsement of Sen. Mike Lee of Utah over the criticism he's hit over the government closure.

"Mike Lee is one of the highest-quality people that I have ever interacted with in anything I've ever done - politics, life - that's number one," Rubio said on the Mark Levin show. [Examiner]

Topping the news: Dozens of Utah activists ranging from Hispanic youth, Catholic priests and members of the GOP will descend upon the U.S. Capitol to pressure House Republicans for action on immigration reform. [Trib] [DNews]

-> The ex-wife of Utah's foremost gun-rights advocate Clark Aposhian wants a protective order, arguing she fears for her safety. [Trib]

-> West Virginia has been one of the most reliably Democratic states for years but is increasingly growing more red. [WaPost]

Tweet of the day: From @Peggynoonannyc: "Obama has perfected a sense of surprise. He's always finding out at just the moment you are, and feeling your indignation."

Happy birthday: To Jean Tracy.

In other news: The UTA wants to double its ridership by 2020 and to cut customer's commute time by 25 percent and executives' bonuses will be tied into making major progress on these goals annually. [Trib]

-> Grass-root efforts and social media are being used to encourage voters to stop the $495 million Jordan School District bond proposal, but other residents believe the bond is a good thing. [DNews] [KUTV]

-> Paul Rolly discusses how even in non-partisan elections, both parties show active participation in some races. [Trib]

-> The McCarthey family, which used to own The Tribune, has no interest in buying back the newspaper. [UtahPolicy]

-> ICYMI: Here's the Tribune's Trib Talk discussion of the politics of Sen. Mike Lee. [Trib]

-> Election Day is next week, but early voting has already begun in many Utah cities. [Trib]

-> Pat Bagley gives his take on the GOP and Texas trying to wrangle legislation for women's rights. [Trib]

-> Former Sen. Bob Bennett says Americans polarization of their news sources is hurting the political system. [DNews]

Nationally: President Barack Obama says that he had no idea that the NSA was spying on allies as early as 2002, but he did know about data collection on adversarial countries. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee said she is totally opposed to spying on allies. [WaPost] [NYTimes]

-> Two bills about how the NSA can collect data on Americans will be up for debate in Congress. Both proposals are bipartisan, one would endorse the collection efforts of the NSA, the other aims to stop them. [WaPost]

-> James Comey was installed at the new director for the FBI on Monday. President Barack Obama said he chose Comey because of his character and his sense of right and wrong. [WaPost] [Politico] [CNN] [NYTimes]

-> The deadline to signup for the Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage without a penalty is now March 31. [Politico]

Where are they?

Rep. Jason Chaffetz attends the GOP Conference, Americans for Reform and U.S. Chamber meetings, as well as a Judiciary Committee classified briefing.

Gov. Gary Herbert attends the Education Excellence meeting, sits down with representatives from Goldman Sachs and goes to the Fall Wasatch Choice 2040 Consortium Sustainability Conference.

SL Co. Mayor Ben McAdams delivers the 2014 budget presentation, dines at the United Way's Preschool Lunch, speaks at the Wasatch Choice 2040 Consortium meeting and holds a County Council meeting.

SLC Mayor Ralph Becker meets with Salt Lake City Parking Enforcement employees and goes to the Salt Lake City Redevelopment Agency meeting.

WVC Mayor Mike Winder attends the Fall Wasatch Choice 2040 Consortium Sustainability Conference.

President Barack Obama meets with CEOs to discuss the importance of cyber security, delivers remarks at a memorial service for former Speaker Tom Foley at the Capitol and sits down with Vice President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

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 Jordan Bailey Twitter.com/thomaswburr Twitter.com/thejordanbailey