By JOSH FUNK, AP Transportation Writer

Senators from both parties pushed Thursday for changes to a massive defense bill after crash investigators and victims’ families warned the legislation would undo key safety reforms stemming from a collision between an airliner and Army helicopter over Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people.

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The head of the National Transportation Safety Board investigating the crash, a group of the victims’ family members and senators on the Commerce Committee all said the bill the House advanced Wednesday would make America’s skies less safe. It would allow the military to operate essentially the same way as it did before the January crash, which was the deadliest in more than two decades, they said.

Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell and Republican Committee Chairman Sen. Ted Cruz filed two amendments Thursday to strip out the worrisome helicopter safety provisions and replace them with a bill they introduced last summer to strengthen requirements, but it’s not clear if Republican leadership will allow the National Defense Authorization Act to be changed at this stage because that would delay its passage.

“We owe it to the families to put into law actual safety improvements, not give the Department of Defense bigger loopholes to exploit,” the senators said.

Right now, the bill includes exceptions that would allow military helicopters to fly through the crowded airspace around the nation’s capital without using a key system called ADS-B to broadcast their locations just like they did before the January collision. The Federal Aviation Administration began requiring that in March. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy called the bill a “significant safety setback” that is inviting a repeat of that disaster.

“It represents an unacceptable risk to the flying public, to commercial and military aircraft, crews and to the residents in the region,” Homendy said. “It’s also an unthinkable dismissal of our investigation and of 67 families … who lost loved ones in a tragedy that was entirely preventable. This is shameful.”

The military used national security waivers before the crash to skirt FAA safety requirements on the grounds that they worried about the security risks of disclosing their helicopters’ locations. Tim and Sheri Lilley, whose son Sam was the first officer on the American Airlines jet, said this bill only adds “a window dressing fix that would continue to allow for the setting aside of requirements with nothing more than a cursory risk assessment.”

Homendy said it would be ridiculous to entrust the military with assessing the safety risks when they aren’t the experts, and neither the Army nor the FAA noticed 85 close calls around Ronald Reagan National Airport in the years before the crash. She said the military doesn’t know how to do that kind of risk assessment, adding that no one writing the bill bothered to consult the experts at the NTSB who do know.

The White House and military didn’t immediately respond Thursday to questions about these safety concerns. But earlier this week Trump made it clear that he wants to sign the National Defense Authorization Act because it advances a number of his priorities and provides a 3.8% pay raise for many military members.

The Senate is expected to take up the bill next week, and it appears unlikely that any final changes will be made. But Congress is leaving for a holiday break at the end of the week, and the defense bill is considered something that must pass by the end of the year.

But Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune, a Republican, didn’t immediately respond to questions about whether he will allow any amendments to the bill to be considered.

Ramsey County has named Jaime Wilkins as its next Housing Stability director starting Dec. 22.

Wilkins will oversee programs from homelessness prevention and emergency shelter to long-term housing stability and will set strategic direction for the department. She will be responsible for developing partnerships with community organizations, local governments and state agencies.

Wilkins also will manage department operations, staff, budgets and program performance and represent the county in work with partner agencies on housing stability, homelessness and other related policy issues.

“I’m honored and excited to join Ramsey County in this role,” Wilkins said in a statement. “Housing security is foundational to a thriving community, and I’m eager to work alongside our dedicated partners, staff and residents to strengthen supports across the entire housing continuum. Ramsey County has long demonstrated a deep commitment to helping individuals and families not only find housing but build long-term stability — and I’m proud to contribute to that mission.”

The county’s Housing Stability department administers and coordinates emergency supportive services to people experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness or housing instability.

Wilkins replaces former Housing Stability Director Keith Lattimore whose last day with the county was in August. Lattimore and then-Deputy Director of Housing Stability Kimberly Cleminson exited their roles with the county following an internal investigation related to their involvement with a recuperative care business in Brooklyn Center. County officials at the time did not say whether Lattimore and Cleminson resigned or were fired.

Wilkins most recently served as associate vice president of Economic Opportunity and Youth Support at Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. She also has served as senior director of Housing Services for Lutheran Social Services and as director of Housing and Supportive Services at YWCA St. Paul. She has worked directly with county residents earlier in her career as a child protection worker and family advocate.

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Wilkins has a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education/child development and family studies and a master’s degree in human services and leadership of organizational management from Capella University. She serves on the board of HousingLink and the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and previously on the board of the Suburban Metro Continuum of Care.

“Jaime brings an exceptional blend of experience, leadership and deep community knowledge to this role,” said Deputy County Manager Karen Francois in a statement. “Her extensive background in housing and social services — combined with her direct service to Ramsey County residents — equip her to lead our Housing Stability team with both strategic vision and a strong commitment to equity.”

By DEREK GATOPOULOS and MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS

The European Union on Thursday handed Ukraine a long list of reforms needed to join the bloc, determined to push the process forward despite the ongoing war and objections from EU member Hungary.

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Top EU officials and diplomats meeting in Lviv, in western Ukraine, said a list of demands covering roughly half of the required reforms would allow progress while formal negotiations remain blocked by Budapest.

EU membership has become the central goal for Ukraine’s effort to anchor itself to the West as NATO prospects stall.

Here’s a look at the main challenges on Ukraine’s road to the European Union.

Orbán is an obstacle for Ukraine’s ambitions

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán insists accession talks shouldn’t proceed during wartime and has cited the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine and economic risks. Despite being at odds with all other member states, Hungary has stuck to that position and did not send a representative to Thursday’s meeting. Breaking with the broader EU consensus, Budapest has also maintained close ties with Moscow.

Marie Bjerre, Denmark’s minister for European affairs, said the EU was moving ahead anyway. “It is very clear that we are 26 member countries that see a future with Ukraine in the EU. It is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when,” she told reporters in Lviv.

Cyprus takes up the challenge

Cyprus joined the EU in 2004 as a war-divided island and could offer Ukraine a blueprint for accession. The island will take over the EU’s rotating presidency from Denmark on Jan. 1 and has promised to continue work on Ukraine’s bid.

In a statement to The Associated Press, Cyprus’ deputy minister for European affairs, Marilena Raouna, praised Kyiv’s “extraordinary political will” to deliver on key reforms.

“Despite Russia’s ongoing war of aggression, the Ukrainian people continue to defend not only their sovereignty,” she said, “but also the very principles on which our union stands: democracy, freedom, human dignity and respect for fundamental rights.”

A long to-do list

Ukraine must align its administration with a host of EU systems, practices and rules before joining the bloc, and the required reforms are divided into six “clusters.” The process is expected to take at least two years.

Detailed requirements within three of those clusters were agreed with Ukraine on Thursday, covering the rule of law and democratic institutions, the internal market and external relations.

Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Taras Kachka, acknowledged that a recent corruption scandal that rocked the government had made rule-of-law reforms a priority, adding that the pace of alignment was now up to Kyiv.

“We found a way to ensure that the enlargement process continues with the same tempo, despite the fact that we still lack formal unanimity,” he said. “We have a very clear understanding of the benchmarks, what’s on the to-do list and everything else.”

The bloc’s biggest member?

Ukraine is in the official accession queue with eight other hopefuls — Albania, Bosnia, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey — but negotiations are at different stages and not all are active.

Counting territory occupied by Russia, Ukraine would be the EU’s largest member measured by land size if it joined, overtaking France.

An agricultural powerhouse and geographically important for energy, Ukraine as an EU member would also counter Russia’s influence and extend the union’s values eastward.

Marta Kos, the EU enlargement commissioner who led Thursday’s talks, said giving Kyiv a clear road map would help accelerate change.

“Reforms are at the center of this process, and nobody can veto Ukraine from doing these reforms,” she said. “Ukraine will become a member of the EU, and nobody can block it.”

Hadjicostis reported from Nicosia, Cyprus

Following an eight-hour meeting of the Forest Lake Area Schools board last week that failed to fill a vacancy — or accomplish other pressing board business — the board met again Wednesday and narrowed the candidate list down to three.

“What transpired last Thursday until two in the morning was extremely difficult,” board member Jill Christenson said during Wednesday evening’s meeting. “That meeting was incredibly difficult, unnecessary, and a lot of trust has been broken.”

During the Dec. 4 meeting, the board was unable to agree on one candidate to fill the vacancy and other agenda items had to wait as the result of language used in the Nov. 20 resolution defining the vacancy-filling process. That resolution was adopted as a special order of business and Board Chairman Curt Rebelein argued that no other business could be conducted until the special order was resolved.

During Wednesday’s meeting, the board voted unanimously to rescind the Nov. 20 resolution. Instead, candidates who received at least four votes would move forward in the process. The three candidates moving forward are Andi Courneya, Princesa Hansen and Paul Pease.

Candidates Scot Doboszenski, Laura Ndirangu and Jim Smith were eliminated from consideration before the voting took place “since they failed to secure majority support last week,” Rebelein said during the meeting. Candidates Kenneth Rutford and Daniel Tuott were removed from consideration after receiving fewer than four yes votes on Wednesday.

“I just want to say thank you to all the applicants in this process, and for your patience, because I know this has probably been a long week of not really knowing what’s happening,” board member Tessa Antonsen said during the meeting. “So we apologize for that unknown, and appreciate so much public involvement and interest in this whole process.”

Along with thanking members of the public for their participation in the election process, multiple members of the board also apologized to those who witnessed the tension during the Dec. 4 meeting.

“We do not want that to happen again,” board member Gail Theisen said during the meeting. “That was stressful, that was exhausting, and it was so void of why we’re here. We’re here for our students and our district, and we’re very passionate about that, so let’s just continue down that road of positivity and trying to build relationships with each other.”

Rebelein also spoke to his role as chairman in the events that occurred in the previous meeting.

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“I’ll be the first to say it’s much easier to preside over a meeting where there’s agreement rather than disagreement and gridlock,” Rebelein said during the meeting. “That gets difficult, especially when you’re in a position where you need to enforce the rules and the resolutions and stuff that have been put forward. That put me in a tough position as well because I wanted to see it get done last week, but at the same time, I had to meet the directive of the board’s will as a majority. Now that the majority’s changed that will and we’ve resolved that resolution, that will make that much easier moving forward.”

Rebelein suggested that now that the candidates have been narrowed down to three, the board and public can take time to reflect on the finalists. Rebelein said next steps would be defined by Friday to be presented at the next board meeting on Dec. 18.