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East Oregonian Page 7A NATION Frustrations High court: School can block transgender teen from boys room Thursday, August 4, 2016 with Trump mount as allies weigh options Associated Press DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Their party in crisis, Republicans’ frustration with Donald Trump reached new heights on Wednesday as party leaders on Capitol Hill and inside New York’s Trump Tower scrambled to persuade their presidential nominee to abandon divisive tactics that have triggered sinking poll numbers and low morale. Party chairman Reince Priebus appealed to the New York billionaire’s adult chil- dren to help amid new signs of a campaign in trouble. Trump’s operation has been beset by internal discord, including growing concern about general elec- tion preparedness and a lack of support from Republican leaders, according to two people familiar with the orga- nization’s inner workings. One of the people said Trump privately blames his own staff for failing to quiet the backlash from his own party after he criticized an American Muslim family whose son, a U.S. Army captain, was killed in Iraq. The inner tension comes as Priebus and handful of high-proile Trump allies consider whether to confront the candidate directly to encourage a new approach following a series of startling stances and statements. In the midst of the uproar over his continued criticism of the Khan family, Trump infuriated Priebus and other party leaders by refusing to endorse GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan’s re-election. The oficials, including one with direct knowledge of Priebus’ thinking, were granted anonymity to discuss strategy after one of the most tumultuous weeks of Trump’s presidential campaign. Trump on Wednesday dismissed suggestions that the GOP frustration was hurting his campaign, even as he openly contemplated an Election Day loss. “Wouldn’t that be embar- rassing to lose to crooked Hillary Clinton? That would be terrible,” he said during a campaign stop in battleground Florida. He also insisted, “We’ve never been this united.” In an interview later Wednesday with Florida’s WPEC-TV, Trump was asked if he was being “baited into battles.” “I think that’s probably right,” he acknowledged. “We’re going to focus more on Hillary Clinton.” The most powerful Republicans in Washington and New York’s Trump Tower concede things will not change unless Trump wants them to. “The candidate is in control of his campaign,” campaign chairman Paul Manafort told Fox News Channel, highlighting his inability to control the nominee. “And I’m in control of doing the things that he wants me to do in the campaign.” Clinton, meanwhile, kept up her assault on Trump’s business practices, holding up a Trump-branded tie as she spoke in Colorado. “I really would like him to explain why he paid Chinese workers to make Trump ties,” she told employees in Denver, “instead of deciding to make those ties right here in Colorado.” Trump blamed the media for growing criticism of his recent statements and his unwillingness to accept guid- ance from senior advisers. Privately, however, Trump has concerns about his own team. He was deeply upset when GOP leaders “took the other side” during his ongoing quarrel with the Khan family, one person said, and blames his campaign staff for not keeping top Republicans in line. Another person said Trump is irritated that general election planning in battleground states isn’t further along with less than 100 days until Election Day. RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Virginia school board can block a transgender male from using the boys restroom when school starts next month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. In a 5-3 decision, the high court put on hold a lower court ruling that ordered the Gloucester County School Board to let Gavin Grimm use the bathroom that matches his gender identity. The school board is expected to ask the justices to further intervene in the case later this month. The decision means Grimm will be barred from using the boys bathroom for at least the irst half of his senior year, said Josh Block, an attorney with the Amer- ican Civil Liberties Union who’s representing Grimm. The school board says it plans to formally ask the Supreme Court to review the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Grimm’s case by the end of August and then it will be months before the justices decide whether to do so. Block said he’s disap- pointed the teen will have to begin another school year being “stigmatized and isolated from the rest of his peers just because he is transgender.” But he said he remains hopeful that Grimm will ultimately prevail. Grimm, who was born female but identiies as male, was allowed to use the boys restroom at his high school for several weeks in 2014. But after some parents complained, the school board adopted a policy requiring students to use either the restroom that corresponds with their biological gender or a private, single-stall restroom. Grimm argues the policy violates Title IX, a federal law that bars sex discrimination in schools. The school board counters that allowing Grimm use the boys restroom raises privacy concerns and may cause some parents to pull their children out of school. If the justices agree to hear Grimm’s case, the order will remain on hold until the court makes a inal ruling, the court’s ruling said. If they deny the school board’s petition for review, the order requiring the board to let Grimm use the boys bathroom will be reinstated. Justices Ginsburg, Soto- mayor and Kagan dissented. Justice Breyer agreed to put the case on hold.