TikTok CEO resigns amid turmoil

HONG KONG – TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer resigned Thursday amid U.S. pressure for its Chinese owner to sell the popular video app.

In a letter to employees, Mayer said that his decision to leave comes after the “political environment has sharply changed.”

His resignation follows President Donald Trump’s order to ban TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, sells its U.S. operations to an American company within 90 days.

Former UAW head indicted

DETROIT – A former president of the United Auto Workers union was charged with corruption Thursday, accused of conspiring with his successor and others to embezzle money for golf, vacation villas and fine dining.

Dennis Williams is the 15th person to be charged in an investigation of the senior ranks of the venerable labor union. It has revealed crooked ties between officials and executives at Fiat Chrysler and luxuries rarely enjoyed by the UAW’s blue-collar members whose dues were squandered.

The charge against Williams of Corona, California, was filed in federal court in Detroit as a criminal information, which means a guilty plea is likely.

He retired as UAW president in 2018, handing the reins to Gary Jones, who was promoted to the top job from the union’s St. Louis-area regional office. Jones pleaded guilty in June.

Vehicle recall app now available

DETROIT – The U.S. government’s road safety agency is offering a smartphone app that will alert drivers if their vehicles are recalled.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was scheduled to roll out the free app for both Android and Apple phones Thursday.

Owners key in or scan their 17-digit vehicle identification number, and the app will search the agency’s database for recalls. If there is one, the app will send an alert, the agency says.

From wire reports