Month: January 2025

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Government Affairs: Year in review – American Rental Association

By Brock Huffstutler
January 3, 2025
ARA Government Affairs Year in Review 2024January
U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith and U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden introduce The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024. Billed as a bipartisan, bicameral tax framework, the proposal addresses several of the tax policy priorities the American Rental Association (ARA) has been pursuing.
ARA informs members about the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirement. An element of the 2021 Corporate Transparency Act designed to curb illicit finance, BOI requires many companies doing business in the U.S. to report information about the individuals who ultimately own or control them. BOI must be submitted through the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and many companies must file by Jan. 1, 2025.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announces increases on certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees effective April 1. Petitions related to the H-2B visa program are included among the fee increases.
Kentucky rental operators travel to the state Capitol in Frankfort to bring attention to the need to pass HB 95, a bill that would add the definition of equipment rental to the state’s existing theft of services code.
February
On Feb. 19, during The ARA Show™ in New Orleans, a reception is held at Marché in the French Quarter to toast members of ARAPAC, ARA’s political action committee that supports probusiness Congressional candidates —regardless of party affiliation.
April
On April 11, Hawaii rental operators participate in their first legislative day at the state Capitol in Honolulu. The event grew out of the efforts by the ARA of Hawaii Task Force and ARA in helping event rental operators recover following the wildfires that devastated Lahaina, Maui, and closed several event venues.
On April 22, Maine Gov. Janet Mills signs into law a supplemental budget for the state containing a provision that changes the way rental companies collect use tax due on equipment. Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, rental businesses will collect use tax on equipment directly from customers. Previously, rental businesses paid the tax upfront at the time of purchase of the equipment.
The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace — to which ARA belongs — condemns the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) final rule on its “Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process.” The rule allows employees to designate nonemployees as their representative during facility walkarounds with OSHA compliance safety and health officers. The rule is set to go into effect May 31.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issues a final rule banning noncompete agreements. The FTC says the ban protects the fundamental freedom of workers to change jobs, increase innovation and foster new business formation. The final rule is to become effective 120 days after its publication in the Federal Register.
May
On May 1, the ARA of California hosts a legislative day at the state Capitol in Sacramento, where rental operators discuss issues impacting their businesses with legislators and staff. Among the issues discussed was the proposed “right to disconnect” law (AB 2751). As proposed, the bill would make a pattern of unwanted contact with employees after hours a criminal offense. Many rental operators are concerned that the bill is overly broad, contains ill-defined terms and turns a labor issue into a criminal one. Soon after the legislative day, success was seen in the postponement of AB 2751 for the rest of the year.
A coalition of nearly 100 organizations, including ARA, submits a letter supporting a proposed bill that seeks to repeal the federal Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) which authorizes the BOI reporting requirement. The proposal — the Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act — was introduced in Congress by Sen. Tommy Tuberville and Rep. Warren Davidson.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce files a coalition lawsuit in federal court challenging OSHA’s “Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process” final rule.
The Oklahoma Legislature overrides Gov. Kevin Stitt’s veto in April of SB 1438 — a bill authorizing rental companies in the state to charge a “recovery fee” of 1.25 percent on the rental charge from any item of heavy equipment property rental by a customer. Revenues from the fee may be used to pay personal property taxes. The law, set to take effect Nov. 1, 2024, is permissive, meaning the charging of the recovery fee authorized by SB 1438 is optional for rental operators.
June
On June 7, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs into law a measure changing the way the state imposes a use tax that applies to rental equipment. Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, rental businesses will collect a state use tax due on equipment/tangible personal property (TPP) directly from customers via the rental/lease stream. Previously, businesses purchasing TPP for rental purposes paid the state TPP use tax upfront at the time of purchase. The shift in use tax collection methodology brings Illinois on par with every other state that imposes a sales tax in regard to the treatment of TPP held for rental or lease.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) approves the Zero Emission Forklift Regulation, with requirements beginning in 2026. Some of the key points include: For rental companies only, Class V LSI forklifts 10,000 lbs. and under will not be regulated until 2029; acknowledgement that all diesel forklifts are covered by the In-Use Off-Road Diesel-Powered Fleets Regulation; starting Jan. 1, 2026, rental companies that purchase diesel forklifts must report the acquisition and state if the new forklift is doing the work of a Class IV forklift with a rating capacity of 12,000 lbs. or less; and Class V LSI forklifts over 10,000 lbs. are not regulated until 2038.
July
ARA informs members that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released a proposed rule that would require employers to develop an injury and illness prevention plan to control heat hazards in the workplace.
August
The FTC’s final rule banning noncompete agreements — issued in April and set to take effect Sept. 4 — is blocked by a federal judge in Texas.
September
Employee Voter Registration Week is recognized from Sept. 16 – Sept. 20. ARA provides voter registration information to members to help get their employees registered to vote. ARA continues its “Get out the vote” efforts during the 2024 election cycle by encouraging the equipment and event rental community to visit the ARA’s Voter Resource Center —ARAvotes.com — to find important voting information.
October
The FTC initiates an appeal of a Texas federal court’s blocking of its final rule banning noncompete agreements.
ARA’s government affairs team submits position papers on five priority tax policy issues to the representatives who chair teams of influence over the issues within the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee — the body that will lead the U.S. House of Representatives as it tackles tax reform in 2025.
November
ARA publishes an overview of the November 2024 elections, which saw the Republican party win the White House, gain control of the U.S. Senate and maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives. The overview includes an analysis of how the election’s results could impact several of the legislative issues ARA is advocating for, including provisions of the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act that are set to expire in 2025, infrastructure bills and more.
On Nov. 15, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issues a ruling that invalidates the entirety of the DOL’s 2024 final overtime regulations rule. The rule would have increased the threshold for salaried workers who are eligible for time-and-a-half pay if they log more than 40 hours per week.
December
On Dec. 3, a federal court in Texas issues a nationwide injunction blocking the act that mandates BOI reporting — less than one month before the Jan. 1, 2025, BOI reporting deadline for many companies.
ARA informs members of its new approach to legislative advocacy, which involves the elevation of activity at the state level while still maintaining a strong federal presence. As part of its tandem state/federal concentration, the association announces Matthew Hite as ARA vice president, federal advocacy, and Kevin Gern as ARA vice president, state advocacy.
John McClelland, Ph.D., ARA vice president for government affairs and chief economist, retires after serving 22 years in the role.

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Poke Root: Potential Benefits, Side Effects, Uses, and Where to Get It – Healthline

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Historically, poke root has been used in herbal medicine. However, all the components of the pokeweed plant are toxic to humans if not prepared in a specific way.
Poke root (Phytolacca americana) is a flowering shrub with red-pink stems and black-purple berries. It’s native to the southwest and eastern regions of the United States. You can also find it in South America, Europe, and Asia.
Sometimes, it’s grown for culinary or decorative purposes.
Poke root has many names, including:
Historically, people have used poke root in food, herbal medicine, and dye for fabric and wine. However, despite these traditional uses, the whole plant is toxic to people. It needs to be cooked in a specific way to reduce its toxicity or have its beneficial compounds extracted from it in a lab. Experts recommend not consuming poke root or any part of the pokeweed plant.
Let’s explore what the science says about poke root, its side effects, and its uses.
Researchers have studied specific compounds of the pokeweed plant, including the roots, by isolating them in a lab.
According to a 2023 research, earlier test tube studies demonstrate that, when extracted from the plant, some of these bioactive compounds may have anticancer and antifungal effects:
Additionally, the 2023 researchers experimented with cultivating poke root to increase these beneficial compounds in this study and an earlier 2022 study. Their results suggest that pokeweed roots cultivated under specific conditions in a lab may contain more of these properties than poke roots cultivated in the wild or those sold as herbal supplements.
Additional research on pokeweed and its possible cancer-fighting compounds is still needed. How a compound acts in a test tube or animal study does not always predict how it will act in the human body, which is much more complex.
New research is still needed to examine:
Pokeweed is not the only plant that contains bioactive compounds with anticancer properties. Learn about foods that contain anticancer compounds.
In herbal medicine, poke root is sometimes used for inflammation and breast conditions like mastitis.
Mastitis occurs when breast tissue becomes inflamed. The condition typically affects people who are breastfeeding.
Users claim poke root can help because it has anti-inflammatory properties.
However, research does not support this use. The pokeweed plant’s root and other parts contain toxins that may negatively affect humans.
It is best to stick to remedies that have been demonstrated by scientific research to treat mastitis and other inflammatory conditions effectively.
Mastitis typically results from a bacterial infection and often requires antibiotics to treat. In addition to doctor-prescribed treatment, over-the-counter (OTC) anti-inflammatory medications and using a warm compress may more effectively relieve pain and swelling.
Learn about herbal remedies that may help mastitis symptoms.
Historically, people have made medicine from different parts of the pokeweed plant. This includes:
People also use the leaves to make herbal tea and sallet, a traditional dish from the southern US. Both are made by boiling the leaves, which is said to make them safe and reduce their toxicity.
However, most of the purported benefits of poke root are anecdotal. Poke root supplements or cooked parts of the plant haven’t been proven to help any of the following conditions in people:
The whole poke root plant is toxic to humans, but the berries are the most toxic. People may also develop symptoms from coming into physical contact with parts of the plant.
Poke root is also poisonous to dogs and other animals. If you have pets, make sure they avoid the plant. Note that the berries are a food source for some species of birds native to the U.S.
In people, the pokeweed plant can cause the following side effects when taken orally or applied topically:
High doses can lead to:
In rare cases, high doses of poke root may lead to death.
If you’re breastfeeding, avoid applying poke root products on your breasts. It’s unsafe for your baby to consume poke root.
Poke root is a traditional herbal remedy said to treat cancer, infections, and inflammation, but the available research has only involved cell cultures or animals. The supposed benefits haven’t been proven in humans.
Raw poke root is toxic to people. When eaten or applied topically, the plant can cause side effects like severe nausea or diarrhea. It shouldn’t be ingested unless prepared properly.
If you’d like to use poke root, use caution. Avoid the herb if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding.
Read about herbal remedies commonly used around the world.
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U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona returns to CT for Blue Ribbon school ceremony – Connecticut Public

Israel Putnam Elementary School in Meriden, Connecticut, celebrated its National Blue Ribbon award on Friday with a visit from one of its former fourth grade teachers: U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.
The homecoming for Cardona comes as President-elect Donald Trump has nominated another Connecticut resident, Linda McMahon, to replace Cardona after Trump takes office Jan. 20.
On the campaign trail, Trump said he would abolish the federal Department of Education. But that task would likely prove cumbersome – and require action from Congress.
“Some of the policies that are being promoted would damage public education,” Cardona said.
The agency’s main role is financial. Annually, it distributes billions in federal money to colleges and schools and manages the federal student loan portfolio.
Celebrating Meriden
Israel Putnam Elementary School received the national distinction for its work closing achievement gaps among different student groups. Meriden Public Schools educates more than 8,000 students, and according to 2024 enrollment data, more than half are students of color.
Meriden Board of Education President Robert Kosienski told the Meriden Record-Journal the district saw about 700 new students enroll for this school year. A majority of the new enrollees joined the district’s bilingual or English as a Second Language program.
Putnam Elementary students were also celebrated for gains made by students in math, as one of 356 schools tapped to join the 2024 cohort of National Blue Ribbon Schools announced in September.
Only two other schools in Connecticut received the prestigious award in 2024. Daniel Hand High School in Madison, which was recognized for high performance – and Sunnyside Elementary School in Shelton, which was honored for closing the achievement gap.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Via genAI pilot, CDAO exposes ‘biases that could impact the military’s healthcare system’ – DefenseScoop

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The Pentagon’s Chief Digital and AI Office recently completed a pilot exercise with tech nonprofit Humane Intelligence that analyzed three well-known large language models in two real-world use cases aimed at improving modern military medicine, officials confirmed Thursday.
In its aftermath, the partners revealed they uncovered hundreds of possible vulnerabilities that defense personnel can account for moving forward when considering LLMs for these purposes.
“The findings revealed biases that could impact the military’s healthcare system, such as bias related to demographics,” a Defense Department spokesperson told DefenseScoop.
They wouldn’t share much more about what was exposed, but the official provided new details about the design and implementation of this CDAO-led pilot, the team’s follow-up plans and the steps they took to protect service members’ privacy while using applicable clinical records. 
As the name suggests, large language models essentially process and generate language for humans. They fall into the buzzy, emerging realm of generative AI. 
Broadly, that field encompasses disruptive but still-maturing technologies that can process huge volumes of data and perform increasingly “intelligent” tasks — like recognizing speech or producing human-like media and code based on human prompts. These capabilities are pushing the boundaries of what existing AI and machine learning can achieve. 
Recognizing the potential for both major opportunities and yet-to-be-known threats, the CDAO has been studying genAI and coordinating approaches and resources to help DOD to deploy and experiment with it in a “responsible” manner, officials say.
After recently sunsetting the genAI-exploring Task Force Lima, the office in mid-December launched the Artificial Intelligence Rapid Capabilities Cell to accelerate the delivery of proven and new capabilities across DOD components.
The CDAO’s latest Crowdsourced AI Red-Teaming (CAIRT) Assurance Program pilot, which focused on tapping LLM chatbots with the aim of enhancing military medicine services, “is complementary to the [cell’s] efforts to hasten the adoption of generative AI within the department,” according to the spokesperson.
They further noted that the CAIRT is one example of CDAO-run programs intended “to implement new techniques for AI Assurance and bring in a wide variety of perspectives and disciplines.” 
Red-teaming is a resilience methodology for applying adversarial techniques to internally test systems’ robustness. For the recent pilot, Humane Intelligence crowdsourced red-teaming for clinical note summarization and a medical advisory chatbot — marking two prospective use cases in the context of contemporary military medicine.
“Over 200 participants, including clinical providers and healthcare analysts from [the Defense Health Agency], the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and the Services, participated in the exercise, which compared three popular LLMs. The exercise uncovered over 800 findings of potential vulnerabilities and biases related to employing these capabilities in these prospective use cases,” officials wrote in a DOD release published Thursday. 
When asked to disclose the names and makers of the three LLMs that were leveraged, the DOD spokesperson told DefenseScoop: “The identities of the large language models (LLMs) used in the study were masked to prevent bias and ensure data anonymity during the evaluation.”
The team carefully designed the exercise to minimize selection bias, gather meaningful data, and protect the privacy of all participants. Plans for the pilot also underwent thorough internal and external reviews to ensure its integrity before it was conducted, according to the official.
“Once announced, providers and healthcare analysts from the Military Health System (MHS) who expressed interest were invited to participate voluntarily. All participants received clear instructions to generate interactions that simulated real-world scenarios in Military Medicine, such as summarizing patient records or seeking clinical advice, ensuring the use of fictional cases rather than actual patient data,” the spokesperson said.
“Multiple measures were implemented to ensure the privacy of participants, including maintaining the anonymity of providers and healthcare analysts involved in the exercise,” they added. 
The DOD announcement suggests that certain learnings in this pilot will play a major role in shaping the military’s policies and best practices for responsibly using genAI. 
The exercise is set to “result in repeatable and scalable output via the development of benchmark datasets, which can be used to evaluate future vendors and tools for alignment with performance expectations,” officials wrote. 
Furthermore, if — “when fielded” — these two use cases are deemed to be covered AI as defined in the recent White House national security memo governing federal agencies’ pursuits of the technology, officials noted that “they will adhere to all required risk management practices.”
Inside the Pentagon’s top AI hub, officials are now scoping out new programs and partnerships for CAIRT-related efforts that make sense within the department and other federal partners. 
“CDAO is producing a playbook that will enable other DOD components to set up and run their own crowdsourced AI assurance and red teaming programs,” the spokesperson said.
DefenseScoop has reached out to Humane Intelligence for comment.

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Man arrested over death of woman in Co Roscommon – RTÉ News

Midlands Correspondent
A man in his 30s has been arrested as part of the investigation into the death of a woman whose body was found on land in Co Roscommon earlier this week.
The man was arrested this morning on suspicion of murder and is being held at a garda station in the midlands.
Gardaí say he is being held under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, which means he can be questioned for up to 24 hours.
Mirjana Pap, who was in her 50s, was reported missing at the weekend.
Her body was found on lands at Curraghaleen, close to the border with Co Westmeath, on Monday 30 December.
A Croatian national, Ms Pap had been living in the Athlone area for several years.
It is understood she had a number of grown-up children and was well-known and worked locally.
A missing persons appeal had been issued for her last weekend.
It was stood down after gardaí found Ms Pap’s body in a bog close to Clonark in Co Roscommon.
© RTÉ 2025. RTÉ.ie is the website of Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland’s National Public Service Media. RTÉ is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Images Courtesy of Getty Images.

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Arkansas State Police investigates inmate death at Texarkana jail – KATV

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Arkansas State Police is investigating the death of an inmate in Texarkana on December 13, 2024. (Photo Miller County Sheriffs Office)
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TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas State Police are investigating the death of an inmate in Texarkana on December 13, 2024.
According to a press release, the Miller County Sheriff's Detention Center staff were conducting security checks just before 6 a.m. when they found 21-year-old Hayden Phipps hanging in his cell.
The on-site nurse, Life-Net EMS, and county deputies were called to begin life-saving measures. Phipps died from his injuries. His body has been sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab.
Phipps was at Miller County Detention Center on felony and misdemeanor charges.

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Exotic animals killed in fire at Dallas shopping center, officials say – KHOU.com

DALLAS — Exotic animals were killed in a fire at a northwest Dallas shopping center Friday morning, but no people were injured, officials said.
It wasn’t yet known what type of animals died in the fire, or how many.
Officials had responded shortly after 9 a.m. to a two-alarm fire at the Plaza Latina shopping center, located at 11200 Harry Hines Boulevard.
WFAA chopper footage showed heavy smoke coming from the shopping center with a portion of the roof collapsed and multiple fire trucks and firefighters responding.
Dallas Fire-Rescue says it was unclear how many people were in the shopping center when the fire started, but there haven’t been any injuries reported.
“When firefighters arrived at the large one-story commercial occupancy, they were met with heavy smoke and fire conditions,” Dallas Fire-Rescue said. “Recognizing that suppression efforts would be defensive early on, a second-alarm response was immediately requested; which resulted in approximately 40-45 firefighters on scene to mitigate the situation, using hand lines and three ladder pipes to surround and drown the fire from all sides.”
The building housed multiple small businesses, one of which sold exotic animals, a “number of which died” during the fire, according to Dallas Fire-Rescue. Dallas Animal Control was also called to help respond to the fire.
A Facebook page for Plaza Latina indicates it’s usually open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday and Thursday and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday-Sunday.
The fire was declared extinguished about two hours after it started at 11:03 a.m., and the cause of the fire is under investigation, according to Dallas Fire-Rescue.
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