Rand Paul attacked after dispute
WASHINGTON— A violent altercation last week that left Sen. Rand Paul, R Ky., nursing bruised lungs and broken ribs began over a landscaping dispute between the senator and his next-door neighbor, according to neighbors and three Kentucky Republicans familiarwith what transpired.
The precise provenance ofthe dispute was still a matter of disagreement Monday.But the back story of the fracas began to come into focus and, with it, the realization that Mr. Paul’s injuries could keep him from Washington, where Republicans in the Senate hold only a slim majority, for some time.
“Heis still unsure why hewas attacked,” said Robert Porter, a friend. Mr. Porter said the senator told him he and neighbor Rene Boucher had not talked in years.
Mr. Boucher was chargedwith fourth-degree-assault and released on$7,500 bond. He is set to appearin court Thursday. Hewas also ordered to not haveany contact with Paul or his family and staff, and tostay at least 1,000 feet away from the senator unless Mr. Boucher was in his own home, next door.
Matthew J. Baker, a lawyer for Mr. Boucher, calledthe matter “a very regrettable dispute” between neighbors over a “trivial” matter, asserting that politics had “absolutely nothing” to do with theattack.
Migrants’ reprieve to end
WASHINGTON—The Trump administration said Monday it will end a special reprieve from deportation for thousands of Nicaraguans who have been allowed to stay in the U.S.for years, but delayed adecision on similar protections for tens of thousands of Hondurans.
The Department of Homeland Security announced that it would not renew Temporary Protected Status for about 5,300Nicaraguans. They willbe allowed to stay in the U.S. only until Jan. 5, 2019,unless they qualify to stay under other provisions of immigration law, senior administration officials told reporters.
Butthe administration gavea six-month reprieve to some 86,000 Hondurans also covered by the program.The officials said acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke needed more time to determine if conditions in Honduras had improved enough to allow them to return home.
The temporary status program was originally set upto protect immigrants from countries that were badly hurt by hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters. Many have livedin the U.S. for as long as20 years.
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White House officials have prepared an executive order that would weaken the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that tax payers demonstrate proof of insurance, accordingto people briefed onthe matter, suggesting they will issue it if congressional Republicans cannot achieve the same goal throughthe tax reform process.... A revamping of the Federal Reserve’s leadership is widening with the announcement Mondaythat William Dudley, president of the New York Fed and the No. 2 official onthe Fed’s key interest rate panel, will retire next year.... The Supreme Courton Monday allowed the execution of an Alabama inmate who, after several strokes, cannot remember the 1985 murder that sent him to death row.