WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that he's picking Kari Lake as director of Voice of America, installing a staunch loyalist who ran unsuccessfully for Arizona governor and a Senate seat to head the congressionally funded broadcaster that provides independent news reporting around the world.
Lake, an immigration hard-liner, was a television news anchor in Phoenix for nearly three decades until she left in 2021 after making a series of controversial statements on social media, including sharing COVID-19 misinformation during the pandemic.
Telegenic, engaging and adept at communicating, Lake launched her political career a short time later, quickly building a loyal following and national profile as she sparred with journalists and echoed Trump in her sharp criticism of what she called the “fake news.”
In a statement, Trump said Lake would be ultimately be appointed by and work closely with the head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media for his incoming administration, “who I will announce soon.”
He said Lake will “ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World FAIRLY and ACCURATELY, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media.”
The president-elect has in the past been a fierce critic of Voice of America, including saying in 2020 that “things they say are disgusting toward our country.”
The broadcaster drew additional criticism during Trump’s first term for its coverage of the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, with a White House publication, the "1600 Daily” email summary of news and events, accusing it of using taxpayer money “to speak for authoritarian regimes.” That was after VOA covered the lifting of lockdowns in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus first emerged.
VOA was founded during World War II, and its congressional charter requires it to present independent news and information to international audiences. It responded to Trump’s criticism by defending its coverage.
Upon taking office in January 2021, President Joe Biden’s administration swiftly removed a number of senior officials aligned with Trump from VOA and positions affiliated with it.
Lake endeared herself to Trump through her dogmatic commitment to the falsehood that both she and Trump were the victims of election fraud. She has never acknowledged losing the gubernatorial race and called herself the “lawful governor” in her 2023 book, “Unafraid: Just Getting Started.”
Lake continued her unsuccessful fight in court to overturn it even after beginning her run for Senate — which she lost by an even higher margin last month, after trying to moderate her tone during her tone but struggling to keep a consistent message on thorny topics, including election fraud and abortion.
Trump nonetheless considered her for his vice presidential running mate before deciding on JD Vance.
Also Wednesday, Trump announced Leandro Rizzuto as his choice to be the U.S. ambassador to the Washington-based Organization of American States, and said he wanted Florida personal injury attorney Dan Newlin to be his administration's ambassador to Colombia.
He also picked Peter Lamelas, a physician and the founder of one of Florida's largest urgent care companies, to be the U.S. ambassador to Argentina. Lamelas is also a large donor to the past campaigns of Trump and other top Republicans.
Cooper reported from Phoenix.
FILE - Kari Lake, Republican candidate for Senate in Arizona, speaks to supporters at a campaign event, Sept. 4, 2024, in Mesa, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
BANJARMASIN, Indonesia (AP) — The search for survivors of a capsized ferry in Indonesia intensified Monday as 17 ships and aircraft from the military, police and other agencies were deployed to join the search for 129 missing after a ferry overturned in the Java Sea on Sunday.
The bodies of six passengers and 108 were rescued Sunday by search teams, which increased to 655 personnel on Monday, National Search and Rescue Agency chief Mohammad Syafii said.
Authorities deployed specialized underwater teams and underwater thermal drones operated by the navy to strengthen the search effort and speed up the evacuation of victims, he said.
“We remain hopeful of finding more survivors,” Syafii said in a video briefing.
The Virgo Transport 8 was carrying more than 240 people when its captain issued a distress call on Sunday, saying the ship was listing in rough seas with waves of up to 3 meters (10 feet) while traveling from Surabaya in East Java province to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan province, on Borneo Island.
Contact was lost with the ferry at about 2 a.m. Sunday and about two hours later authorities learned the vessel had overturned in the Java Sea’s Masalembo waters, about 148 kilometers (92 miles) from Banjarmasin.
Videos released by the search and rescue agency after a helicopter search operation Sunday showed the overturned ferry floating in choppy waters.
The manifest said the ship carried 243 people including 213 passengers and 30 crew members, although it is common in Indonesia for the number of passengers to differ from the manifest. The 119-meter (390-foot) ferry, which was built in Japan in 1987, also was transporting 89 vehicles.
Authorities have not determined the cause of the accident.
A survivor, Ahmad Saudi, said the ferry appeared overcrowded, with many passengers forced to sleep in hallways and common areas because the cabins were full.
Saudi, a bus driver traveling with a vehicle he was transporting, recalled how the ferry suddenly listed without warning, triggering panic among passengers as rough seas battered the vessel in the Java Sea.
Passengers initially tried to hold on before scrambling to the higher side of the ship as it tilted further, he said, speculating the ferry’s balance may have been affected by trucks loaded on one side.
“The women staying in the economy-class cabins likely didn’t survive because the ferry listed so quickly,” Saudi said. “There were no alarms or announcements warning passengers about what was happening, many people in the cabins may not have had enough time to get out.”
Faisal, another survivor who goes by one name, said he and 14 other passengers clung to a section of the overturned ferry that remained above water after it capsized.
“After the ship listed, people panicked and rushed to the upper deck, but eventually the ferry rolled over completely,” he said. “Fourteen of us were left stranded there.”
The group repeatedly recited the Islamic call to prayer, or adhan, while battling exhaustion and rough seas as awaiting rescue. A wave later swept Faisal toward a lifeboat, helping him survive, he said.
Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands. Ferries are a common method of travel and accidents occur regularly, in part due to weak enforcement of safety standards.
At least 211 people were rescued from an Indonesian ferry that caught fire last month in rough seas near the Indonesian tourist island of Bali, while one person was found dead and four others remained missing.
The fire happened less than two weeks after another Indonesian ferry caught fire off the main island of Java, with the loss of at least five people.
Sunday's accident was the Asia-Pacific region's third involving a ferry in less than a week, underscoring maritime transport safety concerns in an area heavily dependent on sea travel.
On Sept. 9, a fire onboard a Philippines passenger ferry killed at least 76 people and left 13 missing. On Sept. 11, a ferry sank near Vanuatu, leaving more than 30 people missing.
Karmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia.
In this photo released by the Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers carry the body of a victim on a stretcher in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia Monday, Sept. 14, 2026 after a passenger ferry overturned in bad weather in the Java Sea on Sunday. (BASARNAS via AP)
In this photo released by the Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers put the body of a victim on a stretcher in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, after a passenger ferry overturned in bad weather in the Java Sea on Sunday. (BASARNAS via AP)
In this photo taken with a smartphone, rescuers wheels a survivor of a sinking ferry on a stretcher upon arrival at a port in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Iman Satria)
In this aerial image taken from video released by Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), the bottom of passenger ferry Virgo Transport 8 is seen above the water after it overturned in bad weather in the Java Sea, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (BASARNAS via AP)
People check the passenger manifest of Virgo Transport 8 passenger ferry which overturned in bad weather in the Java Sea, at the rescuers' command center in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Iman Satria)
