WASHINGTON (AP) — An appeals court ruled Friday that President Donald Trump can fire two board members of independent agencies handling labor issues from their respective posts in the federal government.

A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed to lift orders blocking the Trump administration from removing Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris and National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox.

On March 4, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras ruled that Trump illegally tried to fire Harris. Two days later, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that Trump did not have the authority to remove Wilcox.

The Justice Department asked the appellate court to suspend those orders while they appeal the decisions.

President Joe Biden nominated Harris to the merit systems board in 2021 and nominated Wilcox to a second five-year term as an NLRB member in 2023.

Michael Kunzelman, The Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah became the first state to prohibit flying LGBTQ+ pride flags at schools and all government buildings after the Republican governor announced he was allowing a ban on unsanctioned flag displays to become law without his signature.

Gov. Spencer Cox, who made the announcement late Thursday night, said he continues to have serious concerns with the policy but chose not to reject it because his veto would likely be overridden by the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Starting May 7, state or local government buildings will be fined $500 a day for flying any flag other than the United States flag, the Utah state flag, military flags or a short list of others approved by lawmakers. Political flags supporting a certain candidate or party are not allowed.

The new law could stoke conflict between the state and its largest city. City buildings in liberal Salt Lake City typically honor Pride Month each June by displaying flags that honor its large LGBTQ+ population. Local leaders have illuminated the Salt Lake City and County Building in rainbow lights to protest the flag ban each night since the Legislature sent it to Cox’s desk.

Andrew Wittenberg, a spokesperson for Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall’s office, said their attorneys are evaluating the law and the capital city does not yet have information on what it will do once the law takes effect.

In a letter to legislative leaders explaining his decision, Cox said he agreed with the “underlying intent” of the bill to make classrooms politically neutral but thought it went too far in regulating local governments. He also noted that by focusing narrowly on flags, the law does not prevent other political displays such as posters or lighting.

“To our LGBTQ community, I know that recent legislation has been difficult,” Cox said. “Politics can be a bit of a blood sport at times and I know we’ve had our disagreements. I want you to know that I love and appreciate you and I am grateful that you are part of our state. I know these words may ring hollow to many of you, but please know that I mean them sincerely.”

Cox’s decision came hours after the Sundance Film Festival announced it was leaving its home of four decades in Park City, Utah, for Boulder, Colorado. The flag bill created eleventh-hour tensions as some residents worried it would push the nation’s premiere independent film festival out of state. Festival leaders said state politics ultimately did not influence their move from conservative Utah to liberal Colorado. They did, however. make “ethos and equity values” one of their criteria in a nationwide search for a new home and referred to Boulder in their announcement as a “welcoming environment.”

Utah’s flag law goes further than one signed last week in Idaho that only applies to schools. But Idaho Republicans are also advancing a separate bill to ban government buildings from displaying certain flags.

Florida lawmakers have also advanced a proposal to ban pride flags and others that represent political viewpoints in schools and public buildings after similar measures failed in the past two legislative sessions. Some branches of the federal government, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, also have limited which flags can fly at their facilities.

Hannah Schoenbaum, The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The administration of President Donald Trump is investigating Maine with a claim that dozens of school districts in the state violate federal law by withholding information about students’ gender transitioning from parents.

The U.S. Department of Education said it launched the investigation on Friday, the day after it began a similar investigation into the California Department of Education. In both cases, the federal education department said the states might be violating the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act.

The federal department said in a letter to the Maine Department of Education that it is investigating to determine if the agency “played a role, either directly or indirectly” in districts’ adoption of policies that withhold student records from parents.

It’s the latest round in an ongoing dispute between Maine and the Trump administration about the role of transgender students in school and in high school sports. Representatives for the Maine Department of Education and Maine attorney general’s office did not respond to requests for comment Friday.

The federal Education Department said in a statement it has heard reports that some Maine districts have policies that allow schools to “create ‘gender plans’ supporting a student’s ‘transgender identity’,” and then claim those plans are not education records and not accessible to parents.

“Parents and guardians have the right to access their child’s education records to guide and safeguard their child’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Any policy to the contrary is both illegal and immoral,” said U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who heads a department Trump hopes to dismantle.

The Trump administration began investigating Maine’s handling of the issue of transgender students in school after a public dispute between Trump and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills in February. During a meeting of governors at the White House, Trump threatened to pull funding from Maine if the state doesn’t comply with his executive order barring transgender athletes from sports.

Mills, who was in attendance, responded: “We’ll see you in court.” The federal government then began investigating Maine’s compliance with the Title IX antidiscrimination law.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said earlier this month that the Maine Department of Education as well as the Maine Principals’ Association and a Portland-area high school are in violation of Title IX.

The principals’ association and high school said this week they won’t comply with a proposed agreement to bar transgender athletes from girls’ sports. The Maine education department declined to comment on the proposal on Thursday.

Patrick Whittle, The Associated Press

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Knowing the odds of winning were stacked against him, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear nevertheless vetoed bills sent his way by the Republican-dominated Kentucky legislature with by-now familiar themes: abortion, Medicaid and diversity initiatives.

The bills reprised partisan disputes that have become as much a sign of springtime in Kentucky as the tulips blooming at the state Capitol. But they also sent fresh signals to national Democrats about who Beshear is as speculation continues about whether he’ll run for president in 2028.

“His veto pen has been consistent,” said Democratic political strategist Mark Riddle. ”It’s been authentic and it’s within his core value set. And that’s a very easy argument to take to the country.”

The vetoes, Riddle said, signal “who he will fight for and who he will take on and fight against.”

In practical terms, Beshear couldn’t stop Kentucky Republicans from doing what they wanted. In overriding his vetoes with methodical efficiency on Thursday, they followed the same script that’s played out at the end of legislative sessions throughout Beshear’s two terms as governor.

Still, that didn’t stop him from seizing the moment to shed light on his political beliefs, casting his fights with Republicans in ways that could easily shift toward a more national audience.

“By now,” Beshear said in a statement Friday, “Kentuckians know that I’ll always do what I believe is right, and the right thing here was to veto these bills.”

Known for an even-keeled, disciplined style, Beshear’s willingness to push back against Republican supermajorities could bolster his political stock in national Democratic circles. Beshear has won three elections in GOP-dominated Kentucky — once as attorney general and twice as governor.

Former Kentucky state Sen. Damon Thayer, a Republican who spent years in Senate leadership, said Beshear’s vetoes show his true colors as a “traditional liberal Democrat.” For years, Thayer made the motions for the Senate to override those vetoes, calling it “one of my favorite parts of the job.”

“It’s just been frustrating to me over the years that the voting public that seems so enamored with him hasn’t really paid attention to the fact that he’s vetoed … bills that the majority of Kentuckians support,” Thayer said.

That’s not the whole picture. Each year, stacks of bills signed by Beshear far outnumber his vetoes. And despite a rocky relationship with GOP lawmakers, they’ve teamed up on far-reaching legislation in recent years — legalizing medical marijuana and sports betting and steering federal funding toward such shared priorities as broadband expansion and infrastructure.

But veto battles have exposed the friction in Kentucky’s divided government. That included longstanding culture-war issues — abortion, conversion therapy and diversity, equity and inclusion programs — as GOP lawmakers swept aside Beshear vetoes on Thursday.

Supporters of the abortion measure said it offered clarity to doctors fearful of violating Kentucky law for terminating pregnancies while treating expectant mothers with grave complications. Amid the state’s near-total abortion ban, the bill offers guidelines for doctors in such emergencies, they said.

Beshear said it would have the opposite effect, siding with abortion-rights supporters. The governor said it would undermine the clinical judgment of doctors and put pregnant women at greater risk when faced with medical emergencies.

David Walls, executive director of The Family Foundation, a socially conservative group, said the veto exposed Beshear as a “mouthpiece” for abortion-rights groups

In rejecting a bill to dismantle DEI efforts at public universities, Beshear cast his veto in terms of his faith. He said diversity should be embraced as a strength and branded the legislation as being “about hate.”

“I believe in the Golden Rule that says we love our neighbor as ourself, and there are no exceptions, no asterisks,” said Beshear, a church deacon. “We love and we accept everyone.”

Republicans sprung a big change for Medicaid — adding a work requirement for able-bodied adult recipients with no dependents — just ahead of the deadline to retain their override power.

Beshear answered with a veto, saying some adults would lose health coverage, and Republicans overrode him. GOP state Sen. Chris McDaniel has said Republicans are committed to supporting vulnerable Kentuckians but added: “This nation demands that those who can put forth effort do.”

Beshear also denounced conversion therapy as “torture” in vetoing legislation that safeguards access to the practice. Conversion therapy is the scientifically discredited practice of trying to “convert” LGBTQ+ people to heterosexuality or traditional gender expectations through therapeutic treatment. With their override, Republicans nullified restrictions Beshear has placed on the practice in an executive order last year.

In his veto message, Beshear said policymakers should be protecting kids, not “subjecting them to discredited methods that jeopardize their health, wellbeing and safety.”

___

Associated Press Writer Dylan Lovan in Louisville contributed to this report.

Bruce Schreiner, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge challenging the outcome of his North Carolina Supreme Court race was photographed wearing Confederate military garb and posing before a Confederate battle flag when he was a member of a college fraternity that glorified the pre-Civil War South.

The emergence of the photographs comes at a delicate time for Jefferson Griffin, a Republican appellate judge who is seeking a spot on North Carolina’s highest court. Griffin, 44, is facing mounting criticism – including from some Republicans – as he seeks to invalidate over 60,000 votes cast in last November’s election, a still undecided contest in which he is trailing the Democratic incumbent by over 700 votes.

The photographs, which were obtained by The Associated Press, are from when Griffin was a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1999-2003 and a member of the Kappa Alpha Order, one of the oldest and largest fraternities in the U.S., with tens of thousands of alumni.

Griffin said he regretted donning the Confederate uniform, which was customary during the fraternity’s annual “Old South” ball.

“I attended a college fraternity event that, in hindsight, was inappropriate and does not reflect the person I am today,” Griffin said in a statement. “At that time, like many college students, I did not fully grasp such participation’s broader historical and social implications. Since then, I have grown, learned, and dedicated myself to values that promote unity, inclusivity, and respect for all people.”

One of the pictures, taken during the 2001 ball, shows Griffin and roughly two-dozen other fraternity members clad in Confederate uniforms. Another photograph from the spring of 2000 shows Griffin and other Kappa Alpha brothers in front of a large Confederate flag. He served in 2002 as his chapter’s president.

Controversial fraternity

Kappa Alpha has proven to be a lightning rod for controversy over the decades, often due to the racist or insensitive actions of some of its members. A number of politicians have been forced to apologize for having worn Confederate costumes at the fraternity’s functions or for being photographed in front of a Confederate flag.

Jesse Lyons, a spokesman for the fraternity’s national office in Lexington, Virginia, said use of the rebel battle flag was prohibited in 2001 and displaying other Confederate symbols had been discouraged years before. The fraternity banned the wearing of the Confederate uniforms in 2010. It’s unclear if the chapter at UNC banned the uniforms before the national organization did.

“We believe in cultural humility, we respect the best parts of our organization’s history, and through education we challenge our members to work for a better future. These things are not mutually exclusive,” Lyons said.

The fraternity claims Robert E. Lee as its “spiritual founder” and long championed the Southern “Lost Cause,” a revisionist view of history that romanticizes the Confederacy and portrays the Civil War as a valiant struggle for “states’ rights” unrelated to the enslavement of Black people. In decades past, some Kappa Alpha chapters referred to themselves as a “klan,” a term that many viewed as an unsubtle wink to the Ku Klux Klan.

The photographs featuring Griffin were taken at a time when many other Kappa Alpha chapters were reevaluating their celebration of the Confederacy.

During Griffin’s time in the fraternity, some in his chapter questioned the appropriateness of dressing up in Confederate uniforms for the ball. Griffin opposed abandoning the tradition, according to a person familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal. The uniforms stayed.

Griffin said he would “not respond to unsubstantiated comments based on memories of 20-plus years past.”

In high school Griffin also expressed an affinity for Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general who led southern forces during the Civil War. In a 1998 feature on high school “scholars of the week” in the Raleigh News & Observer newspaper, Griffin said Lee was his No. 1 choice to include on an “ideal guest list” for a party.

Clinging to traditions

The Kappa Alpha Order was founded in 1865, not long after Lee surrendered to the Union Army, at a Virginia college where Lee served as president. At least one of the first members was a former rebel soldier who had served under Lee, who is revered by the fraternity as the ideal of gentlemanly Southern chivalry.

For more than a century, Kappa Alpha threw “Old South” parties. They were formal affairs where the Confederate battle flag was flown and fraternity brothers dressed in replica Confederate gray uniforms and their dates wore antebellum-style hoop skirts. Sometimes they would ride through campus on horseback.

Some Kappa Alpha chapters, particularly in the South, clung to their traditions, including the wearing of blackface, even as they drew protests and public sentiment shifted.

A Kappa Alpha “Old South” parade at Alabama’s Auburn University in 1992 drew supporters waving Confederate battle flags, as well as counter protesters who burned them. In 1995, a group of Kappa Alpha members at the University of Memphis hurled racial slurs while beating a Black student who caused a disturbance outside a frat party, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported at the time.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was no exception to the turmoil. Under pressure from student group’s, the school’s Kappa Alpha chapter in 1985 canceled its annual “Sharecropper’s Ball,” which some attended in blackface. Fraternity members said blackface was worn because the event needed both Black and white attendees, but promised to discontinue the practice, according to a news story in the Daily Tar Heel student newspaper.

The Kappa Alpha chapter at North Carolina’s Wake Forest University stopped allowing members to wear Confederate uniform and display the Confederate flag in 1987.

But other chapters held on longer. The national headquarters finally forbade confederate uniforms in 2010 after a wave of public blowback after Kappa Alpha members at the University of Alabama wore them during a parade that paused in front of the home of a black sorority.

Public officials face criticism over ties to fraternity

Griffin is not the first public official to draw unwanted attention for their college-age embrace of symbols drawn from the darker chapters of the South’s past.

Virginia’s then-governor, Democrat Ralph Northam, came under intense criticism in 2019 over a racist photo that appeared on his yearbook page of his medical school. The incident led reporters to scour the college histories of other Southern leaders, forcing a number of politicians to publicly address their time as Kappa Alpha brothers.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, then the state’s Republican lieutenant governor, dodged questions in 2019 about photos showing him wearing a Confederate uniform while he was a Kappa Alpha member at Millsaps College in the early 1990s. While Reeves was enrolled there in October 1994, other members of the fraternity were disciplined for wearing afro wigs and Confederate battle flags and shouting racial slurs at black students, the AP reported at the time.

Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declined to comment after yearbooks listed him as the leader of the fraternity’s chapter at the University of South Carolina in 1969, along with photos of members wearing Confederate uniforms and posing with a rebel flag.

And Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, also a Republican, expressed regret for participating in “Old South” parties as a student at Auburn University in the 1970s.

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Contact AP’s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org or https://www.ap.org/tips/

Brian Slodysko And Michael Biesecker, The Associated Press