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CNN poll: Rand Paul leads GOP contenders. Bishop, Chaffetz seek chairmanships in '15. Utah's attorneys: Same-sex decisions are state decisions.

Happy Monday and happy St. Patrick's Day. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is leading the field of potential Republican candidates for the presidential nomination in 2016, topping Rep. Paul Ryan, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, according to a national poll by CNN. One should note it's very early in the process, so these numbers will fluctuate but it's an interesting sign. [CNN]

Topping the news: Reps. Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz are hoping to land chairmanships in the next Congress that could give them quite a bit more power. [Trib]

-> Attorneys for Utah argued that decisions about same-sex marriage should be left to the states and a court decision to end the ban would challenge state authority. [Trib] [DNews] [APviaHerald] [Fox13] [KUTV] [ABC4]

-> Charlee Nelson, the 6-year-old namesake of the law legalizing nonintoxicating cannabis oil to treat epilepsy, died Saturday, just two days after the law passed. [Trib] [DNews] [Fox13]

Tweet of the day: From @AnaMarieCox: "Obama has exempted himself from filling out his bracket until after the Final Four."

Happy Birthday: To The Tribune's Paul Rolly and The Dallas Morning News' Carl Luebsdorf.

Opinion section: Executive director of Alliance for a Better Utah Maryann Martindale discusses the winners and losers of the legislative session. [Trib]

-> Connor Boyack, president of Libertas Institute, and Marina Lowe, legislative and policy counsel at the ACLU of Utah, say that lawmakers did a good job of protecting the Fourth Amendment. [Trib]

-> Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah Rt. Rev. Scott Hayashi argues that allowing same-sex marriage is an issue of equality and not state's rights or economic benefits. [Trib]

-> Salt Lake City resident Frank Gilmore says neighborhood caucuses are like a corrupt teamsters union. [Trib]

-> Luke Goodrich, deputy general counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represents Hobby Lobby, argues that the government should not be able to require the company to cover contraceptives that are against the religious beliefs of its owners. [Trib]

-> Cullen Battle, a Salt Lake City attorney representing the Utah Stream Access Coalition, says the Farm Bureau should have accepted a proposed stream access compromise. [Trib]

-> President of the American Bird Conservancy George Fenwick argues that the federal government needs to do more to protect the sage grouse. [Trib]

-> Nathan Mehrens, president of Americans for Limited Government, says that the federal government needs to gives states control over collecting sales tax off the internet. [Trib]

-> George Pyle says that parents don't have rights, but they have responsibilities. [Trib]

-> Paul Rolly argues that the Eagle Forum may have killed an adoption bill for the second time, but this year no one from the organization had to testify against it. [Trib]

-> Rolly also suggests some Utah-friendly test questions that could be given to students without the fear of them coming from the left-wingers. [Trib]

-> Pat Bagley presents some possible explanations for the disappearance of Malaysia Air Flight 370. [Trib]

-> Here are some of the best reader comments from sltrib.com. [Trib]

-> Frank Pignanelli gives out basketball themed awards for players in the legislative session. [DNews]

-> Form Sen. Bob Bennett says we need to get the shrillness out of political rhetoric. [DNews]

Weekend in review: Lawmakers passed a bill requiring unwed mothers who have been the state for less than 90 days to provide more information about the child's father in an effort to end "forum shopping." [Trib]

-> The Senate, just hours before the end of the session, unexpectedly killed a proposal allowing local elections to raise sales tax for public transportation. [Trib]

-> House Speaker Becky Lockhart did not get her $200 million technology in school proposal, or her Medicaid expansion plan, but it may be too early to count her out of the 2016 governor's race. [DNews] [Fox13]

-> The Utah County Jail may release up to 70 felons on condition of probation because the state has not been paying its part of the cost to house them. [DNews]

-> The Legislature made no changes to Utah's liquor laws this session. [DNews]

-> Legislation to regulate e-cigarettes almost passed, but time ran out. [DNews]

-> Lawmakers considered over 100 education proposals this year. [DNews]

-> The Tribune's Nate Carlisle talked to the Washington Post about his attempt to find out how much water the NSA data center in Bluffdale is using. [WaPost]

-> Sophia Haws wants to be the first transgender legislator. [CityWeekly]

-> After the Beaver High School debate team had an awful road trip, the feds shut down a Utah bus company. [Trib]

-> Real Women Run held a workshop to teach women about running for office or working on a campaign. [Trib]

-> SLC Mayor Ralph Becker will serve as co-chairman of the National League of Cities Announces Homeless Veteran Leadership Network. [DNews]

-> Republicans and Democrats are working to increase participation at this weeks Caucus meetings. [DNews]

-> Republican and Democratic Party leaders discuss the upcoming caucus meetings. [Fox13]

Nationally: Working at the White House and raising a family make a difficult balancing act. [WaPost]

-> What will happen to the campaign ads when people stop watching live TV? [WaPost]

-> With all the budget cuts in Washington, science is becoming more, and more privatized. [NYTimes]

Where are they?

Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox speaks at the Water Law and Policy Seminar and hits the Multicultural Commission.

President Barack Obama meets and has a working lunch with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and later visits wounded soldiers and their families at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

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 Topher Webb Twitter.com/thomaswburr and Twitter.com/topherjwebb