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The 2023 preliminary taxable value estimate of property located within the city of Belton is $2,235,890,598 — a 20.97% increase to the 2022 certified taxable value of $1,848,292,162.

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Target is removing certain items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month, after an intense backlash from some customers including violent confrontations with its workers. Target declined to confirm which items it was removing but among the ones that garnered the most attention were “tuck friendly” adult women’s swimsuits that allow trans women who have not had gender-affirming operations to conceal their private parts. Designs by Abprallen, a London-based company which designs and sells occult- and satanic-themed LGBTQ clothing and accessories, have also sparked a backlash.

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Owners of new Ford vehicles will be able to tune in to AM radio in their cars, trucks and SUVs after all. CEO Jim Farley wrote in social media postings Tuesday that the company is reversing a decision to scrub the band after speaking with government policy leaders. They are concerned about keeping emergency alerts that often are sounded on AM stations. Farley wrote that Ford will keep AM on all 2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles, and it will use an online software update to restore it on two 2023 electric vehicles. The move comes after a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers introduced a bill on Wednesday calling on the government to require AM in new vehicles at no additional cost.

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The last time UPS workers walked of the job more than two decades ago, it crippled the shipping company. An emboldened union is threatening to do the same and this time the disruption would be far greater. The 24 million packages UPS ships on an average day amounts to about a quarter of all U.S. parcel volume, according to the global shipping and logistics firm Pitney Bowes. UPS says they deliver the equivalent of about 6% of nation’s gross domestic product. The Teamsters, representing about 350,000 UPS workers, say they'll strike if there's no deal by the time the current contract expires July 31.

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The European Union has slapped Meta with a record $1.3 billion privacy fine and ordered it to stop transferring users' personal information to the United States by October. Meta, which had previously warned that services for its users in Europe could be cut off, vowed to appeal and ask courts to immediately put the decision on hold. The company said Monday that “there is no immediate disruption to Facebook in Europe.” The decision applies to user data like names, email addresses, messages, viewing history and other information that Meta — and other tech giants — use for targeted ads. The legal battle followed former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations of electronic surveillance by U.S. security agencies.

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The Texas House signaled their approval Thursday of a revamped version of its $16.3 billion proposal to cut property taxes — but it’s unclear whether the Senate is going to like it, and time is running out for lawmakers to act on one of their biggest priorities this year.

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Since 2010, teams of physicians, surgeons, nurses and anesthesiologists from Baylor Scott & White McLane Children’s Medical Center in Temple have been making pilgrimages to third-world countries, providing surgeries and medical care to kids in need.