Mar 22, 2017

Trump's former Labor Sec pick quits his job

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata

AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Andy Puzder has stepped down as CEO of CKE Restaurants, the private equity-backed owner of burger chains Hardee's and Carl's Jr., one month after withdrawing as President Trump's nominee for U.S. Labor Secretary. At the time of Puzder's withdrawal, Axios noted that neither CKE nor its private equity owner would comment on his status.

Puzder, who will be succeeded by former KFC president Jason Marker, said in a press release: "I expressed my desire to have CKE plan for succession approximately a year ago, and I could not be more pleased to have Jason Marker selected to be the company's next leader."

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Dan Primack
14 mins ago - Economy & Business

There's little consensus on TikTok's specific national security threat

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

TikTok has become a Rorschach test for how U.S. politicians view China, with little consensus on the specifics of its threat to homeland security.

The big picture: Much of what D.C. fears about TikTok is fear itself, and that's reflected in President Trump's executive order to ban the app by Sept. 20 if it's not sold by parent company ByteDance — alongside another focused on Chinese messaging app WeChat and its parent company Tencent.

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Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, Ursula Perano
21 mins ago - World

U.S. sanctions Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam

Photo: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images)

The Treasury Department on Friday placed sanctions on Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, following months of tension as she has allowed continued overreach by Beijing to subvert Hong Kong's autonomy.

Why it matters: It's the toughest sanction yet imposed on China for its destruction of Hong Kong’s relatively free political system.

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Ben Geman
49 mins ago - Energy & Environment

GM's high-stakes electric move

The Cadillac Lyriq. Image courtesy of Cadillac

Cadillac on Thursday unveiled the Lyriq, the luxury brand's first all-electric model and GM's first consumer electric vehicle unveil since the Chevy Bolt several years ago.

Why it matters: It's the first reveal by GM of an electric vehicle that will use the company's new modular platform and Ultium battery system — technologies meant to underpin the 20 electric vehicles that GM plans to launch by 2023.

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