BOSTON — A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a ruling clearing Harvard University of discrimination against Asian American applicants.Two judges on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston rejected claims from an anti-affirmative action group that accuses the Ivy League University of imposing a “racial penalty” on Asian Americans.The decision is a blow to the group, Students for Fair Admissions, and moves the case a step closer to a possible review by the U.S. Supreme Court. Some legal …