WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to let the president fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission, the latest in a string of emergency appeals over the president’s removal power.

President Donald Trump moved to fire Rebecca Slaughter in the spring, but lower courts ordered her reinstated because the law only allows commissioners to be removed for problems like misconduct or neglect of duty.

The Justice Department, though, argues that the FTC and other executive branch agencies are under Trump’s control and the president is free to remove commissioners without cause.

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The justices already have allowed the firings of several other board members of independent agencies. It has suggested that his power to fire has limitations at the Federal Reserve, a prospect that could soon be tested with the case of governor Lisa Cook.

The fight over the president’s power to fire could prompt the court to consider overturning a 90-year-old Supreme Court decision known as Humphrey’s Executor. In that case from 1935, the court unanimously held that presidents cannot fire independent board members without cause.

The decision ushered in an era of powerful independent federal agencies charged with regulating labor relations, employment discrimination, the airwaves and much else. But it has long rankled conservative legal theorists who argue the modern administrative state gets the Constitution all wrong because such agencies should answer to the president.

The agency at the center of the case was also the FTC, a point cited by lower-court judges in the lawsuit filed by Slaughter. She has ping-ponged in and out of the job as the case worked its way through the courts.

The FTC is a regulator created by Congress that enforces consumer protection measures and antitrust legislation. Its seats are typically comprised of three members of the president’s party and two from the opposing party.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A federal appeals court panel on Thursday put on hold a lower court judge’s order to wind down operations of the immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades.

The three-judge panel in Atlanta decided by a 2-1 vote to stay the federal judge’s order pending the outcome of an appeal, saying it was in the public interest.

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U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami issued a preliminary injunction last month ordering operations at the facility to be wound down by the end of October, with detainees transferred to other facilities and equipment and fencing removed.

Williams’ decision was issued in response to a lawsuit brought by Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Miccosukee Tribe, who accused the state and federal defendants of not following federal law requiring an environmental review for the detention center in the middle of sensitive wetlands.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration in late June raced to build the facility on an isolated airstrip surrounded by wetlands to aid President Donald Trump’s efforts to deport people in the U.S. illegally. The governor said the location in the rugged and remote Everglades was meant as a deterrent against escape, much like the island prison in California that Republicans named it after.

The state and federal government defendants have appealed Williams’ ruling, asking that it be put on hold. The state of Florida said in court papers this week that it planned to resume accepting detainees at the facility if the stay was granted.

The federal government claims that it isn’t responsible for the detention center since it hasn’t spent a cent to build or operate the facility, even though Florida is seeking some federal grant money to fund a portion of it. Florida claims that the environmental impact statement required by federal law doesn’t apply to states.

Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social

By ANNIE MA, Associated Press

Northwestern University President Michael Schill said Thursday that he will resign, ending a three-year tenure marked by the freeze of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding by the Trump administration and heated criticism from House Republicans over the university’s response to campus protests.

The funding freeze and uncertainty over its finances contributed to Northwestern’s decision to lay off around 200 people over the summer.

In a statement announcing his resignation, Schill acknowledged the pressure from the White House.

“It is critical that we continue to protect the University’s research mission and excellence while preserving academic freedom, integrity, and independence,” he said.

Northwestern emerged as a prominent target of President Donald Trump’s campaign to reshape elite colleges he has derided as hotbeds of liberalism and antisemitism. In April, the administration froze $790 million in federal funding for the private school in Evanston, Illinois, one of dozens of colleges under investigation over claims they did not do enough to protect Jewish students.

During the wave of pro-Palestinian protests in spring 2024, Northwestern drew ire from conservatives over an agreement it struck with demonstrators to take down their encampment. In exchange, Northwestern pledged to reestablish an advisory committee on university investments and made other commitments.

Schill defended the arrangement during an appearance in May 2024 before a House committee investigating campus antisemitism.

“We had to get the encampment down,” Schill said. “The police solution was not going to be available to us to keep people safe, and also may not be the wisest solution as we’ve seen at other campuses across the country.”

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Supporters of Israel and the administration officials have framed the protests at Northwestern and other schools as antisemitic and “pro-Hamas.” But people involved in the demonstrations reject that characterization. They say advocating for Palestinian human rights and territorial claims, or criticizing Israeli military action, is not antisemitic.

Schill also navigated the fallout from a hazing scandal that broke not long after he was named Northwestern’s president in August 2022. Former football players filed lawsuits in 2023 alleging sexual abuse and racial discrimination on the team, and similar allegations then spread across several sports.

Northwestern’s football coach, Pat Fitzgerald, was initially suspended then later fired after an investigation. The school concluded he had a responsibility to know that hazing was occurring and should have stopped it. Fitzgerald denied wrongdoing and filed a lawsuit that ended with a settlement last month.

Schill will continue as president until an interim leader is chosen and will return from a sabbatical as a faculty member at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, the school said. He also will work with the Board of Trustees on efforts to restore the university’s frozen federal funding, Northwestern said.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Thursday marks 140 days to the 140th St. Paul Winter Carnival.

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The St. Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation — the nonprofit that produces the winter celebration — will lay out what’s new for the 2026 St. Paul Winter Carnival as part of its annual meeting on Thursday evening.

For now, here’s what to know about the carnival and its history.

2026 dates

The 2026 St. Paul Winter Carnival will be held from Thursday, Jan. 22, to Sunday, Feb. 1.

OG festival

The first winter festival was held in the city in 1886, a response to a New York writer describing St. Paul as “Another Siberia, unfit for human habitation in the winter.” Grover Cleveland was president, Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was new in bookstores and a stamp cost two cents.

Ice Palaces

Throughout the carnival’s history, there have been 36 Ice Palaces of varying styles and sizes (no, they’re not an annual attraction). The first Ice Palace, built in the style of a medieval castle, debuted along with the carnival in 1886; the most recent palace, of modest size and situated in Rice Park, was a popular attraction at the 2016 celebration.

Parades

Breaking tradition, the King Boreas Grande Day Parade — the daytime parade that kicks off the carnival — marched out of downtown St. Paul and onto Grand Avenue in 2024. The Vulcan Victory Torchlight Parade, the carnival’s finale, remained in downtown. Stay tuned for details on 2026’s parades.

Legend

The Winter Carnival’s cast of characters spend the 10 days of the festival playacting the battle between winter and spring — starring the royal family (representing winter) and the Vulcans (representing spring). While winter lasts a long time in Minnesota, we all know who wins in the end.

Where do canines factor into this play? A recent trend is the crowning of a canine king and queen of the St. Paul Winter Carnival and Doggie Depot, a dog-friendly event at Union Depot.

Annual meeting

The annual meeting, to be held Thursday evening at the Harriet Island Wigington Pavilion, is for members of the St. Paul Festival & Heritage Foundation. It includes dinner and drinks and RSVPs are required. More info at wintercarnival.com/event/annual-meeting-for-members-only/.

This story will be updated Friday when 2026 carnival details are available.

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